Statistics Canada census numbers detail the changing makeup of Canada’s workplaces
Within 10 years, nearly one in five Canadian workers will be 55 or older and employers will be almost entirely dependent on immigrant workers to grow their labour force, according to a new census analysis from Statistics Canada.
While the data confirm much of what HR professionals have been observing — the workforce is getting older, more educated and increasingly comprised of immigrant Canadians — they also provide detailed pictures of just how much the Canadian workforce has changed in the past 10 years as well as a look at the changes coming in the future.
The large cohort of baby boomers approaching retirement combined with low fertility rates for the last 30 years raises the specter of labour shortages in certain occupations, states the report.
Workers born during the baby boom of 1946 to 1964 made up 47 per cent of the labour force in 2001 and within 10 years 50 per cent of them will be 55 or older and another 18 per cent of them will be over 60. The average age of the Canadian workforce is now 39, up from 37.1 in 1991. Saskatchewan had the highest average age of 39.8.
There was also a marked decrease in the number of younger workers for each older worker. In 1991 there were 3.8 workers between 20 and 24 for each worker 55 or older but by 2001 that ratio had dropped to just 2.7.
Some sectors will be more susceptible than others to labour shortages, according to the census analysis. Most likely to be hit are the health, education and construction sectors.
Workers from abroad
As a result of labour shortages Canadian employers will become even more dependent on immigrant workers than they have been in the past decade.
By 2001, 20 per cent of the Canadian workforce was born outside of the country and they accounted for almost 70 per cent of labour force growth after 1991.
Over the course of the decade 977,500 immigrants joined Canada’s workforce, and 57 per cent (557,900) of those found work in Ontario. British Columbia was the second most popular destination for immigrant workers (186,400) followed by Quebec where 124, 900, entered the province’s labour force.
More degrees required
Between 1991 and 2001, Canada’s labour force grew by 9.5 per cent to 15.6 million. Of those, more than 2.5 million were in occupations that required a university degree, a 33 per cent increase since 1991, triple the rate of growth for the labour force as a whole. In 2001, workers requiring a university degree accounted for 16 per cent of the total labour force, up from 13 per cent a decade earlier. Meanwhile 6.8 million Canadians are working in jobs requiring at most a high school diploma, a 5.4 per cent increase from 1991, much slower than total labour force growth. As a result these jobs make up just 43 per cent of the total workforce down from 45 per cent.
While the data confirm much of what HR professionals have been observing — the workforce is getting older, more educated and increasingly comprised of immigrant Canadians — they also provide detailed pictures of just how much the Canadian workforce has changed in the past 10 years as well as a look at the changes coming in the future.
The large cohort of baby boomers approaching retirement combined with low fertility rates for the last 30 years raises the specter of labour shortages in certain occupations, states the report.
Workers born during the baby boom of 1946 to 1964 made up 47 per cent of the labour force in 2001 and within 10 years 50 per cent of them will be 55 or older and another 18 per cent of them will be over 60. The average age of the Canadian workforce is now 39, up from 37.1 in 1991. Saskatchewan had the highest average age of 39.8.
There was also a marked decrease in the number of younger workers for each older worker. In 1991 there were 3.8 workers between 20 and 24 for each worker 55 or older but by 2001 that ratio had dropped to just 2.7.
Some sectors will be more susceptible than others to labour shortages, according to the census analysis. Most likely to be hit are the health, education and construction sectors.
Workers from abroad
As a result of labour shortages Canadian employers will become even more dependent on immigrant workers than they have been in the past decade.
By 2001, 20 per cent of the Canadian workforce was born outside of the country and they accounted for almost 70 per cent of labour force growth after 1991.
Over the course of the decade 977,500 immigrants joined Canada’s workforce, and 57 per cent (557,900) of those found work in Ontario. British Columbia was the second most popular destination for immigrant workers (186,400) followed by Quebec where 124, 900, entered the province’s labour force.
More degrees required
Between 1991 and 2001, Canada’s labour force grew by 9.5 per cent to 15.6 million. Of those, more than 2.5 million were in occupations that required a university degree, a 33 per cent increase since 1991, triple the rate of growth for the labour force as a whole. In 2001, workers requiring a university degree accounted for 16 per cent of the total labour force, up from 13 per cent a decade earlier. Meanwhile 6.8 million Canadians are working in jobs requiring at most a high school diploma, a 5.4 per cent increase from 1991, much slower than total labour force growth. As a result these jobs make up just 43 per cent of the total workforce down from 45 per cent.
