Understanding the Occupational Typology of Canada s Labour Force

Transcription

1 Understanding the Occupational Typology of Canada s Labour Force Author: Taylor Brydges, Taylor.Brydges@rotman.utoronto.ca p f Martin Prosperity Institute Joseph L. Rotman School of Management University of Toronto 105 St. George Street, Suite 9000 Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3E6 Supervised by Kevin Stolarick, University of Toronto Vasiliki Bednar, University of Toronto With contributions from: Shawn Gilligan, University of Toronto Michelle Hopgood, University of Toronto Kate Johnson, University of Toronto Zara Matheson, University of Toronto Tom Robertson, University of Toronto November 2012

2 Abstract Taylor Brydges, Martin Prosperity Institute Joseph L. Rotman School of Management University of Toronto Understanding the Occupational Typology of Canada s Labour Force This whitepaper provides a descriptive overview of the Canadian labour force using Richard Florida s (2002) occupational typology comprised of the Creative, Service, and Working Classes. Utilizing the most recent Census data available (2006), it offers a deeper description of the locational dynamics of the occupational classes. Using the occupational groupings enables a particular understanding of the complexities of the Canadian labour force in a way that overcomes the limitations posed by industry-specific definitions of work, in order to better understand broader trends in the labour force. This whitepaper first contextualizes the Canadian labour force in the three classes nationally, provincially, and by Census Metropolitan Area. Following this, is an in-depth examination of the labour force composition at varying geographies through interpreting the demographic characteristics of: age, immigrant and visible minority composition, and sex, in addition to surveying labour force participation rates and the educational attainment of the classes. As regional and national variation is revealed both across classes and geography, we will conclude with a presentation of the most extreme variations across the variables examined. Finally, the analysis provides the foundation for future research with the release of updated census data, allowing for meaningful comparisons over time. i

3 Table of Contents Abstract Contents i ii Introduction: Where are we going? 1 Section 1: The Lay of the Land: Florida s Occupational Typology in Canada 3 Canada s occupation class breakdown... 3 Occupational class breakdown by province... 3 The occupational classes by CMA... 4 Section 2: Labour Force Participation Rates 7 Labour force participation rates in Canada... 7 Labour force participation rates in Canada s CMAs... 8 Labour force participation rates in Canada... 7 Section 3: Age of the Classes 10 The Canadian labour force...10 The provinces through the ages...12 Section 4: Educated Workers in Canada 15 Where are educated workers distributed in Canada by class?...15 Educated workers across the provinces...16 Educated workers by CMA...19 Section 5: Canada s Immigrant Labour Force 22 Immigrant workers in Canada by class Canada s immigrant labour force across the provinces...24 Immigrant CMA workforce Section 6: Canada s Visible Minority Workforce 30 Visible minority workers in Canada by class Visible minority populations across Canada...31 The visible minority workforce of Canada s CMAs Section 7: Sex Differences in Canada s Labour Force 38 A. Labour force distribution B. Age data C. Education D. Immigrant workers by gender E. Visible Minority Conclusion 62 Policy implications and future research Additional resources Appendix 66 ii

4 Introduction: Where are we going? At the Martin Prosperity Institute we use the occupational classes as the frame of reference through which we can better understand the labour force. Director Richard Florida developed an occupational typology (2002) that examines the labour force through a four-part system: the Creative Class, Service Class, Working Class, and Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Class. This categorization system is a useful and innovative way to think about the economy, because it classifies workers based on the type of work that they are paid to do, rather than simply their qualifications or industry placement at a specific job. Briefly, Creative Class workers are paid for their thinking and problem solving skills. Service Class workers are paid to perform routine work directly for, or on behalf of, clients. Working Class workers are paid to maneuver heavy machinery and perform skilled trades. Finally, farmers, fishers, and other primary extractors are paid to extract natural resources from the ground or seas. Natural Resources Farm Fishing Lumberjack Miners Creative Engineer Manager Programmer Of the four classes, the Creative Class has overwhemlingly dominated the conversation. This is partially attributable to the contemporary post-fordist economy where the terms of work of the classes are rapidly changing and being re-defined. While the Working Class is shrinking in size, it continues to be an area of examination. It should also be noted that given the small size of the Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Class, it frequently makes up a small segment of the labour force to the extent that numerical values are negligible in analysis and as such, it is frequently not included. Aware of this, the Institute has been placing particular emphasis on better understanding Working Assembly Line Worker Carpenter Packager Trades the Service Class, which in Canada, is the largest, and least well understood, occupational class. In particular, this large-scale descriptive project is part of a distinct service-specific research stream called Strength in Services. In the Strength in Services project, we re exploring ways to upgrade low-paying, routineoriented service jobs by improving monetary and non-monetary compensation, autonomy, training, and opportunities for advancement. However, despite it s enormous size, the Service Class continues to be understudied. Though we often capitalize on the typology to discuss labour market trends, in Canada, we have yet to comprehensively describe them. Last summer (2010), COMPLEXITY Service Daycare Worker Hair Stylist Hotel Maid Waitress 1

5 we started to organize 2006 Census data into the four classes for all of Canada. We broke down that data by geography (province and Census Metropolitan Area (CMA)) and demographic characteristics available in the data. This has allowed us to describe how many immigrants; visible minorities, men and women are in any of the classes at any geography in Canada. We can also determine their education (defined as holding the credential of Bachelor s degree or above), their age, and employment status. To examine the classes through these characteristics, we decided that there is a benefit to understanding locational dynamics of the classes across geography. To accomplish this, we contextualize and examine the Canadian labour force nationally, provincially, and by CMA. While the territories are included in the Census data analysis conducted, analysis will only be provided for the provinces and CMAs. This paper will use the CMA variation to examine the occupational classes across Canada. This focus on the thirty-three Census Metropolitan Areas provides a detailed level of geography that enables the identification of trends that are not immediately apparent at the provincial level. According to Statistics Canada, a CMA is defined as: an area consisting of one or more adjacent municipalities situated around a major urban core. To form a census metropolitan area, the urban core must have a population of at least 100,000. The 33 CMAs included in this analysis are: St. John s, Newfoundland and Labrador; Halifax, Nova Scotia; Saint John, New Brunswick; Moncton, New Brunswick; Saguenay, Québec; Québec City, Québec; Sherbrooke, Québec; Trois-Rivières, Québec; Montréal, Québec; Ottawa-Gatineau, Ontario-Québec; Kingston, Ontario; Oshawa, Ontario; Toronto, Ontario; Hamilton, Ontario; St. Catharines-Niagara, Ontario; Kitchener, Ontario; London, Ontario; Windsor, Ontario; Greater Sudbury/Grand Sudbury, Ontario; Thunder Bay, Ontario; Peterborough, Ontario; Brantford, Ontario; Guelph, Ontario; Barrie, Ontario; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Regina, Saskatchewan; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; Calgary, Alberta; Edmonton, Alberta; Abbotsford, British Columbia; Vancouver, British Columbia; Victoria, British Columbia; and Kelowna, British Columbia. Through incorporating the element of geography, comparisons can be made to understand and identify the trends and challenges at work in Canada s changing labour force across the nation. Finally, a note about the data: Using two-digit National Occupation Codes (NOCs), this 2006 Census data was re-organized into the four occupational classes using the methodology established by Richard Florida and Kevin Stolarick. Each graphic and analysis will include a brief description of the methodology employed to develop it, providing the reader with insight into the calculations preformed. We anticipate that the reader will come away with a much more nuanced understanding of the occupational classes in Canada than was possible before. 2

6 Section 1: The Lay of the Land: Florida s Occupational Typology in Canada Before we delve into provincial and CMA-level trends, it is important to ground our analysis by establishing the overall breakdown of the Canadian labour force into the Creative, Service, and Working Classes. We have also included the Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Class in this initial breakdown in order to provide the most complete picture of Canada s labour force. Again, we remind the reader that it is important to keep in mind that the remaining analysis does not include this class. Canada s occupation class breakdown To produce this occupational labour force breakdown, the population of each of the classes was divided by the labour force total, to create a percentage. We do this to show what class workers in a specific geographic area belong to. The Service Class makes up the largest part of the Canadian labour force, with 46% or 7,798,550 people employed (see Exhibit 1). The Creative Class comprises 29% of the Canadian labour force, and employs 4,871,270 people. The Working Class, 22% of the Canadian labour force, employs 3,699,950 workers. Finally, the Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Class makes up 3% of the Canadian labour force, employing 491,425 people across Canada. The occupational classes in Canada Exhibit 1 Geography Service Class Creative Class Working Class FFF Class Total Labour Force Canada 7,798,550 46% 4,871,270 29% 3,699,950 22% 491,425 3% 16,861,195 Occupational class breakdown by province We employed a similar methodology to breakdown the labour force of each province and territory, establishing a percentage of each class in the total labour force (Exhibit 2). All are benchmarked against the Canadian average. There appears to be variation among the classes, where the Service Class is consistently larger than the Creative and Working Classes, but less variation within the classes across 3

7 geography. Manitoba, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have the largest distribution of workers in the Service Class, comprising 48% of their total labour force. However, the remaining provinces have comparable Service Class labour forces, which are comparable to that of the Canadian average. Of the provinces, Ontario has the highest percentage of Creative Class workers, with 30% of its labour force employed in creative industries, while Prince Edward Island has the lowest percentage, with 23%. When looking at the Working Class, Newfoundland and Labrador has the highest percentage of its labour force employed in Working Class jobs, at 24%, and Saskatchewan has the largest percentage of the workforce employed in the Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Class, with 12%, which is four times the Canadian average. In reviewing the percentages of each workforce, it is important to keep in mind the variation in size of provincial workforces. Occupational class breakdown by province Exhibit 2 Geography Service Class Creative Class Working Class FFF Class Total Labour Force Newfoundland and Labrador 107,758 45% 60,983 25% 58,690 24% 14,460 6% 241,890 Prince Edward Island 32,815 44% 17,330 23% 16,645 22% 7,690 10% 74,480 Nova Scotia 227,233 48% 125,003 27% 97,195 21% 19,160 4% 468,590 New Brunswick 182,498 48% 91,538 24% 88,200 23% 14,750 4% 376,985 Québec 1,848,958 47% 1,136,298 29% 864,115 22% 80,340 2% 3,929,710 Ontario 2,973,978 46% 1,959,803 30% 1,429,885 22% 110,055 2% 6,473,720 Manitoba 287,050 48% 154,025 26% 127,225 21% 33,865 6% 602,165 Saskatchewan 227,215 44% 123,305 24% 106,085 20% 60,895 12% 517,500 Alberta 849,245 44% 546,185 28% 440,645 23% 92,580 5% 1,928,655 British Columbia 1,036,028 47% 639,583 29% 460,855 21% 56,645 3% 2,193,110 Yukon 8,915 47% 6,080 32% 3,475 18% 415 2% 18,885 Northwest Territories 10,865 46% 7,480 32% 4,675 20% 440 2% 23,460 Nunavut 6,008 50% 3,703 31% 2,275 19% 130 1% 12,115 Canada 7,798,550 46% 4,871,270 29% 3,699,950 22% 491,425 3% 16,861,195 The occupational classes by CMA Looking at a more detailed level of geography, we have examined each CMA by its percentage of labour force in each of the occupational classes, in concert with the total labour force population of each class. Recognizing the minimal variation at the broad geography of the provinces, analysis at the CMA level provides an 4

8 enhanced level of locational differences. Using the same methodology employed to examine the Canadian and provincial labour forces dividing each class population into the class total we produced a percentage of each CMA labour force that comprises each class (Exhibit 3). The CMA average share of the labour force employed in the Service Class is 47%; one per cent higher than the Canadian average employed in this class. Within the CMAs, there is a range of Service Class workforce size, from 41% of the total labour force in Guelph, to 54% in Moncton. Across geography, it appears that the Service Class is consistently the largest employer, comprising at least 50% of a CMA s labour force in one-third of Canada s CMAs. When examining the Creative Class, we see significant variation across geography. For example, the CMA with the largest percentage of labour force in the Creative Class is Ottawa-Gatineau, with 41% of its total labour force employed in the Creative Class, 9% above the CMA average of 32%. Alternatively, Abbotsford has the smallest percentage of workers in the Creative Class, with 21%. A trend we see in larger urban areas, such as Toronto and Montréal, is that the Creative Class labour forces appear to be the largest class in the metro. This may be attributed to factors such as concentrations of universities and knowledge sectors clustering in these regions. In looking at the Working Class, the CMA average share is 19%. In Ontario, there is a cluster of CMAs whose Working Class share is above this average, with over a quarter of their labour force employed in Working Class jobs: Oshawa (25%), Barrie (26%), Guelph (27%), Kitchener (28%), Windsor (29%), and Brantford (30%). On the West Coast, Abbotsford, British Columbia has a similarly high share of workers employed in Working Class occupations, with 29% of its workforce employed in the Working Class. Conversely, Ottawa-Gatineau has the lowest percentage of workers in this class, with 11%, while the East Coast is closely reflective of the CMA average. 5

9 Occupational class breakdown by CMA Exhibit 3 Geography Service Class Creative Class Working Class FFF Class Total Labour Force St. John's 47,753 50% 32,718 34% 13,980 15% 1,270 1% 95,720 Halifax 108,273 52% 69,603 33% 30,535 15% 1,730 1% 210,140 Saint John 32,168 51% 18,478 29% 11,915 19% 520 1% 63,080 Moncton 37,818 54% 19,888 28% 11,850 17% 565 1% 70,120 Saguenay 35,890 49% 19,555 27% 16,965 23% 1,235 2% 73,645 Québec City 195,360 49% 134,030 34% 64,200 16% 2,565 1% 396,155 Sherbrooke 44,930 47% 28,355 29% 21,970 23% 1,285 1% 96,540 Trois-Rivières 33,335 48% 18,520 27% 16,180 23% 1,070 2% 69,105 Montréal 932,258 48% 630,408 33% 353,765 18% 7,535 0% 1,923,965 Ottawa-Gatineau 295,685 47% 256,315 41% 71,295 11% 3,675 1% 626,970 Kingston 40,330 51% 25,930 33% 12,035 15% 710 1% 79,005 Oshawa 84,548 47% 48,083 27% 45,000 25% 1,235 1% 178,865 Toronto 1,261,948 46% 947,298 34% 539,105 20% 10,350 0% 2,758,701 Hamilton 170,255 47% 105,660 29% 83,405 23% 4,505 1% 363,825 St. Catharines-Niagara 104,150 52% 46,325 23% 46,515 23% 5,125 3% 202,115 Kitchener 111,018 44% 71,043 28% 70,415 28% 2,035 1% 254,510 London 113,510 46% 71,550 29% 57,115 23% 4,195 2% 246,370 Windsor 72,620 45% 41,290 25% 47,200 29% 1,455 1% 162,565 Greater Sudbury/ Grand Sudbury 40,558 51% 20,748 26% 15,590 20% 3,040 4% 79,935 Thunder Bay 31,608 50% 16,908 27% 13,270 21% 1,120 2% 62,905 Peterborough 29,275 49% 16,305 27% 13,310 22% 995 2% 59,885 Brantford 30,438 46% 14,458 22% 20,010 30% 1,730 3% 66,635 Guelph 30,133 41% 22,488 31% 19,390 27% 810 1% 72,820 Barrie 47,835 49% 24,220 25% 25,090 26% 915 1% 98,060 Winnipeg 190,638 50% 111,638 29% 75,115 20% 3,200 1% 380,590 Regina 55,743 50% 34,778 31% 18,470 17% 1,600 1% 110,590 Saskatoon 61,495 47% 38,705 30% 26,930 21% 3,835 3% 130,965 Calgary 292,623 45% 233,008 36% 120,800 18% 7,070 1% 653,500 Edmonton 280,843 46% 177,433 29% 137,185 23% 11,045 2% 606,505 Abbotsford 36,050 43% 17,565 21% 23,970 29% 5,620 7% 83,205 Vancouver 554,650 48% 380,620 33% 204,405 18% 10,790 1% 1,150,465 Victoria 91,860 51% 60,210 33% 27,010 15% 2,035 1% 181,115 Kelowna 41,515 48% 22,035 26% 19,890 23% 2,195 3% 85,635 CMA Average 167,791 47% 114,429 32% 68,905 19% 3,244 1% 354,370 6

10 Section 2: Labour Force Participation Rates Examining labour force participation rates across Canada provides insight into a host of regional and national economic trends. In addition to providing details about trends across sectors, labour force participation rates also shed light on employment characteristics, such as what proportion of people looking for a job are able to obtain one, and allows for the tracking of discouraged workers who leave the labour force. These discouraged workers may obscure what is recorded as low(er) unemployment rates. Overall, labour force participation measures the sum of those who are actively looking for work (unemployed) and those who are actively working (employed). To calculate the labour force participation rate for each of the provinces and territories, the formula of: 1 (Number of people unemployed + Number of people not in labour force) / Total labour force, is utilized. Labour force participation rates in Canada For the Canadian labour force overall, the labour force participation rate is 62%. The highest labour force participation rate is in Alberta and the Yukon, with 71%, while the lowest labour force participation rate, across the country is Newfoundland and Labrador with 48%, demonstrating that there is considerable geographic variation with this variable (Exhibit 4). 7

11 Labour force participation rates in Canada Exhibit 4 Geography Labour Force Participation Rate Canada 62% Newfoundland and Labrador 48% Prince Edward Island 61% Nova Scotia 57% New Brunswick 57% Québec 60% Ontario 63% Manitoba 64% Saskatchewan 65% Alberta 71% British Columbia 62% Yukon 71% Northwest Territories 69% Nunavut 55% Labour force participation rates in Canada s CMAs Using the same formula described above to calculate labour force participation rates for the provinces, we were curious to examine both variation among the CMAs, and to also see if CMAs acted similarly to their respective province. Overwhelmingly, CMAs have higher labour force participation rates when compared to their respective province. For example, mirroring the high labour force participation rate of Alberta, Calgary has the highest labour force participation rate in the country by CMA, at 73% while Edmonton holds the number two spot with 70% (Exhibit 5). At the other end of the spectrum, the CMA with the lowest labour force participation rate is Saguenay, Québec with 55%. Interestingly, Newfoundland and Labrador has the lowest provincial labour force participation rate at 48%, but St. John s has a labour force participation rate of 59%. From this, we can speculate to an urbanisation effect where CMAs have more employment opportunities, and thus higher labour force participation rates, than other regions within a province. 8

12 CMA labour force participation rates Exhibit 5 Rank Geography Labour Force Participation Rate 1 Calgary, AB 73% 2 Edmonton, AB 70% 3 Guelph, ON 68% 4 Kitchener, ON 68% 5 Regina, SK 68% 6 Barrie, ON 67% 7 Ottawa, ON-Gatineau, QC 66% 8 Oshawa, ON 65% 9 Winnipeg, MB 65% 10 Halifax, NS 65% 11 Québec City, QC 64% 12 Moncton, NB 64% 13 Abbotsford, BC 64% 14 Brantford, ON 64% 15 Toronto, ON 64% 16 London, ON 63% 17 Vancouver, BC 63% 18 Victoria, BC 63% 19 Hamilton, ON 62% 20 Montréal, QC 62% 21 Kelowna, BC 61% 22 Kingston, ON 61% 23 Sherbrooke, QC 60% 24 St. Catharines-Niagara, ON 60% 25 Saint John, NB 59% 26 Windsor, ON 59% 27 St. John s, NL 59% 28 Thunder Bay, ON 59% 29 Peterborough, ON 59% 30 Greater Sudbury / Grand Sudbury, ON 58% 31 Thunder Bay, ON 59% 32 Trois-Rivières, QC 56% 33 Saguenay, QC 55% 9

13 Section 3: Age of the Classes Ever wondered where the oldest labour force in Canada is? How about the youngest? When examining the age profiles of the Canadian labour force, we can add the dimension of the occupational class breakdown, to see new class trends emerge. For example, based on your age and the type of work you do, are you more likely to belong to a certain class? While the demographics of the Canadian labour force will only continue to grow in importance to the country s economy, significant class differences provide clues into the labour force transitions and patterns in our labour force. In particular, it will be demonstrated with respect to age composition, across the classes there is considerable class differences. The Canadian labour force We began our age profile of Canada by first looking at the age breakdown of the Canadian labour force as a whole, and then by province. According to Statistics Canada definitions, the age of the labour force is traditionally broken down into three age brackets: 15 24, 25 64, and 65+. The percentages are obtained by dividing each age bracket respectively into the total labour force. We performed this calculation for the total labour force. When looking at the labour market overall, the youngest labour force by percentage is Saskatchewan, where 19% of the total labour force is age The largest part of the workforce, aged 25 64, is 82% of the Canadian labour force. There is an average of 2% of Canada s labour force aged 65+ (Exhibit 6). When looking at the labour force that is 65+, at first glance it appears as if there is limited regional variation, with a range of 1 3% of the labour force in this category. However, when looking at total population numbers, in Ontario, this 2% is 156,320 workers, which is actually 42% of Canada s total labour force population in this age bracket. In turn, we want to establish the percentage of each class labour force that is in each of the age brackets, so we can compare the classes to the overall labour force. To do this, for each class, we divided the class labour force in each of the age brackets into the class total. From this, class differences immediately become apparent. For example, for the Canadian labour force, 16% of the labour force is age However, for the Service Class, this grows to 22%, but for the Creative Class, 10

14 Age breakdown of the Canadian labour force Exhibit 6 Geography Total Labour Force Age Age Age 65+ Canada 16,369,790 2,592,425 16% 13,399,740 82% 377,625 2% Newfoundland and Labrador 227,390 31,780 14% 192,700 85% 2,910 1% Prince Edward Island 66,890 11,745 18% 53,805 80% 1,340 2% Nova Scotia 449,425 70,015 16% 370,350 82% 9,060 2% New Brunswick 362,210 56,140 15% 299,560 83% 6,510 2% Québec 3,849, ,315 15% 3,211,436 83% 72,605 2% Ontario 6,363, ,340 16% 5,210,971 82% 156,320 2% Manitoba 568,240 99,290 17% 454,970 80% 13,980 2% Saskatchewan 456,550 84,865 19% 358,430 79% 13,255 3% Alberta 1,836, ,945 18% 1,452,265 79% 44,855 2% British Columbia 2,136, ,320 15% 1,751,300 82% 55,795 3% Yukon 18,500 2,770 15% 15,270 83% 460 2% Northwest Territories 23,000 3,860 17% 18,845 82% 295 1% Nunavut 11,910 2,085 18% 9,685 81% 140 1% shrinks to 7% (Exhibits 7a and 7b). The Service Class has the lowest percentage of workers age with 76%, followed by the Working Class with 83% which is again representative of the Canadian average, while the Creative Class is overwhelmingly in this age bracket with 91%. Finally, approximately 2% of each of the classes is 65+, with slightly more creative workers in this age bracket. 11

15 The provinces through the ages Each class labour force has been broken down into the three age brackets, to see the percentage of each labour force at a particular age. Rather than seeing widespread geographic variation among the provinces, instead similar to the Canadian class composition, class trends are extremely clear. The Service Class has the largest proportion of its class workforce in the age bracket, ranging from 19% in Newfoundland and Labrador, to 24% in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta (Exhibit 7a). While this may be considered an expected result, as it would be predicted that many young people first enter the labour market into the Service Class, we are also interested in understanding the transitions workers make over age and class. Age breakdown of the classes by province: Service Class Exhibit 7a Geography Service Class Age Age Age 65+ Canada 7,798,553 1,714,518 22% 5,906,400 76% 177,635 2% Newfoundland and Labrador 107,755 20,908 19% 85,560 79% 1,288 1% Prince Edward Island 32,818 7,580 23% 24,640 75% 598 2% Nova Scotia 227,248 48,438 21% 174,773 77% 4,038 2% New Brunswick 182,450 38,513 21% 140,838 77% 3,100 2% Québec 1,848, ,195 21% 1,435,553 78% 34,218 2% Ontario 2,973, ,755 23% 2,230,998 75% 73,238 2% Manitoba 287,030 68,048 24% 212,310 74% 6,673 2% Saskatchewan 227,223 53,788 24% 166,768 73% 6,668 3% Alberta 849, ,270 24% 621,908 73% 21,058 2% British Columbia 1,035, ,198 21% 793,465 77% 26,318 3% Yukon 8,898 1,775 20% 6,935 78% 188 2% Northwest Territories 10,818 2,550 24% 8,148 75% 120 1% Nunavut 6,008 1,500 25% 4,448 74% 60 1% 12

16 Age breakdown of the classes by province: Creative Class Exhibit 7b Geography Creative Class Age Age Age 65+ Canada 4,871, ,298 7% 4,410,690 91% 124,305 3% Newfoundland and Labrador 60,960 4,448 7% 55,630 91% 883 1% Prince Edward Island 17,353 1,485 9% 15,470 89% 398 2% Nova Scotia 124,968 9,438 8% 112,503 90% 3,028 2% New Brunswick 91,530 6,793 7% 82,713 90% 2,025 2% Québec 1,136,265 79,695 7% 1,032,173 91% 24,398 2% Ontario 1,959, ,245 7% 1,776,563 91% 52,963 3% Manitoba 154,005 10,873 7% 139,075 90% 4,058 3% Saskatchewan 123,263 9,823 8% 109,993 89% 3,448 3% Alberta 546,165 42,750 8% 490,028 90% 13,388 2% British Columbia 639,580 39,658 6% 580,600 91% 19,323 3% Yukon 6, % 5,545 91% 173 3% Northwest Territories 7, % 6,903 92% 105 1% Nunavut 3, % 3,368 92% 60 2% The Creative Class overwhelmingly has the lowest percentage workers aged 15 24, which is on average, 14 percentage points lower than the Service Class (Exhibit 7b). Nearly consistent across geography, the Creative Class is dominated with workers aged 25 64, ranging from 89 91% of a province s Creative Class labour force in this age bracket. The Working Class falls somewhere in the middle of these two classes, with 15% of its workforce age 15 24, and 83% age (Exhibit 7c). However, for workers aged 15 24, there is variation across geography for the percentage of workers employed in this class. For example, 20% of Saskatchewan and Alberta s Working Class labour force is under 24%, while this drops to 11% in Newfoundland and Labrador. All three of the classes have very similar age profiles in the 65+ age bracket, with a range of only 1 3%. But when looking at the total values for Canada, the Service Class has the largest number of workers employed, with 177,635 workers over age 65. The Creative Class has the second largest number of workers with 124,305 and finally, the Working Class with 75,685 workers. 13

17 Age breakdown of the classes by province: Working Class Exhibit 7c Geography Working Class Age Age Age 65+ Canada 3,699, ,610 15% 3,082,650 83% 75,685 2% Newfoundland and Labrador 58,675 6,425 11% 51,510 88% 740 1% Prince Edward Island 16,720 2,680 16% 13,695 82% 345 2% Nova Scotia 97,210 12,140 12% 83,075 85% 1,995 2% New Brunswick 88,230 10,835 12% 76,010 86% 1,385 2% Québec 864, ,425 12% 743,710 86% 13,990 2% Ontario 1,429, ,340 14% 1,203,410 84% 30,120 2% Manitoba 127,205 20,370 16% 103,585 81% 3,250 3% Saskatchewan 106,065 21,255 20% 81,670 77% 3,140 3% Alberta 440,665 89,925 20% 340,330 77% 10,410 2% British Columbia 460,855 73,465 16% 377,235 82% 10,155 2% Yukon 3, % 2,790 80% 100 3% Northwest Territories 4, % 3,795 81% 70 1% Nunavut 2, % 1,870 83% 20 1% Using the same methodology, we also examined the age distribution of each CMA s Service, Creative, and Working Class labour force, in addition to the total labour force. We were interested in seeing if variation began to appear across geography, and if class patterns continued to hold at increasingly detailed levels of geography. Overall, our results were consistent with the profiles of the provinces, and these charts are available in Appendix 1. 14

18 Section 4: Educated Workers in Canada In the Canadian labour force, 22% percent of workers in the Creative, Service, and Working Class are educated, with education defined as holding a Bachelor s degree or above. While postsecondary education is increasingly prevalent in society, myths abound about the educational attainment, or lack thereof, of specific types of work. Misperceptions about the classes abound; does a Bachelor s degree guarantee a Creative Class job? Do service workers have too much education for their job description, or not enough? Are educated workers finding their way into the Working Class? This section on the educational attainment of the classes will seek to better describe both the distribution of educated workers across the Canadian labour force, and the percentage of each class labour force with a credential. This two-step analysis will be repeated for the labour forces of both the provinces and CMAs. Where are educated workers distributed in Canada by class? As was introduced, there are two ways of looking at the distribution of educated workers across the classes, providing two very different interpretations of the education of the classes, while also demonstrating the ease with which very different descriptions of the classes can be presented. The first method looks at only the educated workers in a particular region, to see what class they belong to. We obtain this breakdown by dividing the approximately 3.7 million Bachelor s degrees in Canada across the classes. The sum of the classes workers equals the Canadian total number of educated workers. From this analysis, 67% of educated workers in Canada are employed in the Creative Class, while 28% are employed in the Service Class. And, in the Working Class, 5% of workers have a Bachelor s degree or above (Exhibit 8). However, we can also look at the level of education within each of the classes. Another way of thinking about this is: what percentage of each of the classes has a Bachelor s degree or above? To examine this, we divided the number of educated workers in each class by the total class workforce. Based on this analysis we see that in the Creative Class, half of all workers (51%) have a Bachelor s degree or above. A common criticism of the Creative Class is that it is merely a proxy for 1 Calculation: (Service Class + Creative Class + Working Class workers with a Bachelor s degree or above) / Total Class Labour Force 15

19 education levels of workers, or that in order to be a member of the Creative Class, you need to go to university. Rather, what the data suggests, and reminds us of, is that not all creative occupations are jobs that require extensive education. In looking at the Service Class, we see that 13% of workers have a Bachelor s degree, and in the Working Class, 5% of the labour force is educated. From these analyses, two very different pictures of the level of education are presented. The influence of educational attainment for workers is a particular area of ongoing research at the Institute. A series of Insights in Fall 2011 examined the impact of educational attainment on the terms of work for individuals. Educated workers in the Canadian labour force Exhibit 8 Total educated workers: Distribution by occupational class in Canada Percentage of each occupational class with a Bachelor s degree/above 67% 51% 28% 5% 13% 5% Service Class Creative Class Working Class Service Class Creative Class Working Class Educated workers across the provinces Similarly to the Canadian breakdown, we can examine the provinces through these two different analyses of the distribution of educated workers in the occupational classes in Canada. First, the education of the provinces is looked at by examining the distribution of Bachelor s degrees into each of the classes. In the Service Class, both Nova Scotia and British Columbia have the largest share of educated service workers, with 30% of their educated population in this class (Exhibit 9). Newfoundland and Labrador and Saskatchewan have the lowest percentage of educated workers in the Service Class, with 23%. However, Newfoundland and Labrador has the largest concentration of educated workers in the Creative Class, with 74% of its educated workforce in the creative sector, with British Columbia ten percent behind at 64%. While the distribution of education appears relatively consistent across the country in the Working Class, Ontario has 16

20 the largest concentration of workers in this class with 6%. The province whose education distribution most closely mirrors the Canadian distribution is Manitoba, with a distribution of 28% Service, 67% Creative, and 5% Working Class. Distribution of educated workers by province Exhibit 9 Geography Service Class Education Creative Class Education Working Class Education Total Canada 1,023,325 28% 2,471,408 67% 169,900 5% 3,692,168 Newfoundland and Labrador 8,625 23% 27,495 74% 825 2% 37,180 Prince Edward Island 3,508 28% 8,030 65% 400 3% 12,388 Nova Scotia 29,475 30% 63,830 66% 2,795 3% 97,000 New Brunswick 16,273 26% 43,555 70% 1,790 3% 62,243 Québec 204,180 25% 576,843 71% 24,805 3% 808,718 Ontario 458,893 29% 1,039,120 65% 89,890 6% 1,595,988 Manitoba 31,160 28% 72,558 66% 5,080 5% 110,588 Saskatchewan 18,955 23% 56,345 70% 2,525 3% 80,805 Alberta 100,023 26% 259,158 68% 16,560 4% 381,275 British Columbia 149,945 30% 317,248 64% 24,955 5% 496,133 Yukon % 2,805 72% 105 3% 3,903 Northwest Territories 1,033 24% 3,158 73% 105 2% 4,320 Nunavut % 1,320 80% 10 1% 1,658 The alternative way of examining education is to determine what percent of workers in each class have a Bachelor s degree or above. This is created by dividing the number of educated workers in a class by the class total population, for a region. In looking at the Service Class, Nova Scotia and British Columbia have the largest educated Service Class labour force, with 16% of Service Class workers holding a credential (Exhibit 10). Ontario has the second largest educated service worker population, with 15% of service workers with a Bachelor s degree or above. The remaining provinces are below the Canadian average percentage of educated Service Class populations. Ontario has the most educated Creative Class labour force, with 53% of the Creative Class holding a credential. Also, in looking at the total number of educated workers in Canada, we see that Ontario is home to approximately one-third of the educated workers in Canada, or 1,595,988 people (Exhibit 9). Newfoundland and Labrador provides an interesting example of the differences between the 17

21 two methods. For example, Newfoundland and Labrador has the lowest educated Creative Class, with 45% (Exhibit 10), but from our previous analysis, we also know it has the largest percentage of the provinces educated workers in the Creative Class, with 74% (Exhibit 9). Again, we see a small amount of variation in the percentage of educated workers in the Working Class, with Ontario having the most educated Working Class, with 6% of workers are educated. This is followed by British Columbia (5%), Manitoba (4%), and Alberta (4%), with the remaining provinces ranging from 1 3%. Percentage of each class with a Bachelor s degree or above by province Exhibit 10 Service Class Creative Class Working Class Geography Educated Total Share Educated Total Share Educated Total Share Canada 1,023,325 7,342,701 14% 2,471,408 4,871,293 51% 169,900 3,699,945 5% Newfoundland and Labrador 8,625 88,455 10% 27,495 60,960 45% ,675 1% Prince Edward Island 3,508 25,383 14% 8,030 17,353 46% ,720 2% Nova Scotia 29, ,798 16% 63, ,968 51% 2,795 97,210 3% New Brunswick 16, ,085 12% 43,555 91,530 48% 1,790 88,230 2% Québec 204,180 1,713,108 12% 576,843 1,136,265 51% 24, ,125 3% Ontario 458,893 2,998,891 15% 1,039,120 1,959,770 53% 89,890 1,429,870 6% Manitoba 31, ,563 14% 72, ,005 47% 5, ,205 4% Saskatchewan 18, ,608 11% 56, ,263 46% 2, ,065 2% Alberta 100, ,323 12% 259, ,165 47% 16, ,665 4% British Columbia 149, ,828 16% 317, ,580 50% 24, ,855 5% Yukon 978 8,928 11% 2,805 6,123 46% 105 3,480 3% Northwest Territories 1,033 10,670 10% 3,158 7,513 42% 105 4,670 2% Nunavut 328 4,963 7% 1,320 3,643 36% 10 2,260 0% 18

22 Educated workers by CMA To complete our analysis of educated workers in Canada s work forces, we turn to the educational attainment of the occupational classes by CMA. We focused on examining the proportion of each class that has a Bachelor s degree or above to describe each of the classes. To see the class distribution of educated workers across the CMAs, please see Appendix 2. We are able to compare the Canadian average percentage of educated workers to the CMA average percentage of educated workers by class. We see that the CMA average (16% of the Service Class, 54% of the Creative Class, and 6% of the Working Class) is slightly higher than the Canadian average percentage of workers with a Bachelor s degree and above (14% of the Service Class, 51% of the Creative Class and 5% of the Working Class) (Exhibits 11 and 10, respectively). We then sought out to examine the regional variation hidden in these averages. In the Service Class, the CMA with the highest percentage of educated workers is Toronto, with 21%, followed by Vancouver (19%), Guelph (18%), Ottawa-Gatineau (18%) and Halifax (17%) (Exhibit 11). Saguenay has the lowest percentage of educated service workers at 7%, which is one-third of Toronto s percentage. Moreover, approximately one-third of Canada s CMAs have Service Class populations where ten percent or less of the labour force holds a credential. Ottawa-Gatineau has the most highly educated Creative Class population, with 60% of Creative Class workers holding a credential. Toronto and Guelph are right behind with 59% and 58% of Creative Class workers holding a Bachelor s degree or above respectively. On the West Coast, Kelowna has the lowest percentage of Creative Class workers with a degree with 37%, while Barrie (38%), Abbotsford and Brantford (39%), and Oshawa (40%) have similar Creative Class labour force composition. Finally, in looking at the Working Class, Toronto again has the largest educated Working Class population, with 11% of workers with a Bachelor s degree and above. This is almost double the CMA average of 6%. We see the clustering of educated Working Class workers in a several CMAs across the country, in addition to Toronto; Vancouver (8%), Windsor (7%), and Calgary and Ottawa-Gatineau (6%). The remaining CMAs fall below the CMA average. Across the classes, we see the co-location of educated workers in major CMAs, where there are higher concentrations of educated workers. In examining other highly educated CMAs, such as Guelph, this may be attributed to the fact that the CMA is a regional center, or home to a university. The pattern of more educated workers settling in major CMAs holds across classes. This concentration of educated workers in regional centers (or major CMAs) suggests an urbanization effect, which may have consequences for smaller or rural areas, which run the risk of seeing the sorting of educated people out of these areas, resulting in brain drains. 19

23 Percentage of each class with a Bachelor s degree or above by CMA Exhibit 11 Service Class Creative Class Working Class Geography Educated Total Share Educated Total Share Educated Total Share St. John's 5,573 47,753 12% 16,720 32,718 51% ,980 2% Halifax 18, ,273 17% 39,735 69,603 57% 1,455 30,535 5% Saint John 2,880 32,168 9% 8,203 18,478 44% ,915 3% Moncton 4,028 37,818 11% 9,595 19,888 48% ,850 3% Saguenay 2,555 35,890 7% 9,315 19,555 48% ,965 2% Québec City 22, ,360 12% 71, ,030 53% 1,575 64,200 2% Sherbrooke 4,718 44,930 10% 14,923 28,355 53% ,970 3% Trois-Rivières 3,060 33,335 9% 8,953 18,520 48% ,180 2% Montréal 134, ,258 14% 343, ,408 55% 17, ,765 5% Ottawa-Gatineau 52, ,685 18% 153, ,315 60% 3,960 71,295 6% Kingston 5,178 40,330 13% 14,265 25,930 55% ,035 4% Oshawa 7,633 84,548 9% 19,080 48,083 40% 1,335 45,000 3% Toronto 267,430 1,261,948 21% 559, ,298 59% 57, ,105 11% Hamilton 21, ,255 13% 51, ,660 48% 4,270 83,405 5% St. Catharines-Niagara 10, ,150 10% 19,140 46,325 41% 1,660 46,515 4% Kitchener 14, ,018 13% 36,060 71,043 51% 3,515 70,415 5% London 14, ,510 13% 35,458 71,550 50% 2,520 57,115 4% Windsor 9,890 72,620 14% 22,108 41,290 54% 3,460 47,200 7% Greater Sudbury/ Grand Sudbury 3,428 40,558 8% 9,375 20,748 45% ,590 2% Thunder Bay 3,440 31,608 11% 7,733 16,908 46% ,270 3% Peterborough 2,673 29,275 9% 7,415 16,305 45% ,310 3% Brantford 2,533 30,438 8% 5,633 14,458 39% ,010 3% Guelph 5,363 30,133 18% 13,018 22,488 58% 1,295 19,390 7% Barrie 4,403 47,835 9% 9,198 24,220 38% ,090 3% Winnipeg 25, ,638 13% 56, ,638 51% 4,040 75,115 5% Regina 6,245 55,743 11% 17,078 34,778 49% ,470 3% Saskatoon 7,060 61,495 11% 20,658 38,705 53% 1,075 26,930 4% Calgary 46, ,623 16% 125, ,008 54% 7, ,800 6% Edmonton 35, ,843 12% 84, ,433 48% 5, ,185 4% Abbotsford 3,225 36,050 9% 6,855 17,565 39% ,970 4% Vancouver 106, ,650 19% 208, ,620 55% 17, ,405 8% Victoria 13,703 91,860 15% 32,143 60,210 53% 1,420 27,010 5% Kelowna 3,605 41,515 9% 8,163 22,035 37% ,890 3% CMA total 871,148 5,537,106 16% 2,046,073 3,776,160 54% 143,970 2,273,880 6% 20

24 While these findings are descriptive, they also raise some interesting Service Class questions. For instance, if we have a higher human capital service workforce, do we have a more productive one? Do then, CMAs with higher percentages of educated workers, such as Toronto and Vancouver, see a competitive advantage and benefit from better service as a result? Does the demographic composition of these service workers in major CMAs substantively deviate from the general service pool? Do service jobs in CMAs require more credentials due to labour force competition? Or, is this merely the result of job transitions and misallocations in the labour force? Maybe, do CMAs offer better service jobs? Don t forget immigrants. It could be that CMAs have more immigrants whose credentials aren t recognized so they are under-employed. Although these questions lie outside the scope of this particular project, they inform other research projects currently underway at the Institute. Section 5: 21

25 Canada s Immigrant Labour Force A key aspect of our changing labour force is the immigrant and visible minority populations that play an increasingly prominent and vital role in our labour force. The following sections will examine the immigrant and visible minority workforces respectively. According to Statistics Canada, an immigrant is defined as: persons residing in Canada who were born outside of Canada, excluding temporary foreign workers, Canadian citizens born outside Canada, and those with student or working visas. Immigrant workers in Canada by class There are two different ways to examine Canada s immigrant labour force across the classes. One way is to examine the distribution of a region s immigrant workforce in the three classes, while the other way is to examine the percentage of each class labour force that is immigrant. These analyses will be performed for the overall Canadian labour force, in addition to the provinces and CMAs. First, we can look at the total immigrant workforce to examine what class they belong to, by dividing each class s immigrant workforce by the total immigrant workforce. In Canada, 45%, or 1,611,328, of Canada s immigrant workforce belong to the Service Class. Next, 31%, or 1,086,133, are part of the Creative Class workforce, and 23% or 800,320 are in the Working Class (Exhibit 12). We can also examine the percentage of each class s labour force that is immigrant, by dividing the class immigrant labour force by the occupational class total labour force for a region. Interestingly, the percentage of class labour force that is immigrant is nearly identical across the classes; suggesting a even level of integration into the labour force. 21% of the Service Class, 22% of the Creative Class, and 22% of the Working Class is immigrant in Canada. It is also important to recognize that these percentages do represent class labour forces of varying sizes. Canada s immigrant labour force across the provinces We then performed the same analysis on the occupational class breakdowns of each of the provinces, which we can benchmark to the Canadian average. 22

26 Canada s immigrant workforce by class Exhibit 12 Total Immigrant Workers: Distribution by Class in Canada Percentage of Class Labour Force who are Immigrants 23

27 The first analysis examines the distribution by class of each province s immigrant workforce. With the exception of Newfoundland and Labrador (35%), the immigrant Service Class distribution across the provinces is close to the Canadian average of 46%, with a variation of 3% above or below the average (Exhibit 13). However, the Creative Class distribution of immigrant workers does show a higher level of regional variation. Newfoundland and Labrador, which had the lowest Service Class immigrant percentage, has the largest percentage distribution of the Creative Class that is immigrant, with 58%. Manitoba has the smallest distribution of immigrant workers in the Creative Class, with 24%. Finally, when looking at the Working Class, we again see variation from the Canadian average of 23%. Newfoundland has the lowest percent class composition in the Working Class, at 7%, while Manitoba has the largest immigrant Working Class, with 31%. We can also examine the percentage of each class s labour force by province that is immigrant, by dividing each province s immigrant labour force for each of the classes, by the total class population. Using this method, we begin to see variation Distribution of immigrant labour force by class and province Exhibit 13 Geography Immigrant Service Class Immigrant Creative Class Immigrant Working Class Total Canada 1,611,328 46% 1,086,133 31% 800,320 23% 3,497,780 Newfoundland and Labrador 1,560 35% 2,580 58% 330 7% 4,470 Prince Edward Island % % % 2,160 Nova Scotia 10,315 43% 10,650 45% 2,890 12% 23,855 New Brunswick 6,645 47% 5,130 37% 2,215 16% 13,990 Québec 220,573 48% 145,753 32% 94,205 20% 460,530 Ontario 863,163 45% 599,238 31% 476,470 25% 1,938,870 Manitoba 38,615 45% 20,895 24% 26,210 31% 85,720 Saskatchewan 12,623 49% 8,898 35% 4,235 16% 25,755 Alberta 154,363 47% 103,533 32% 70,215 21% 328,110 British Columbia 300,258 49% 186,963 31% 122,630 20% 609,850 Yukon 1,030 52% % % 1,980 Northwest Territories 1,113 54% % % 2,075 Nunavut % % 20 5%

28 both within and between the classes, in addition to patterns across geography. Across the classes in Canada, only two provinces are consistently above the Canadian average immigrant labour force composition. In Ontario, 29% of the Service Class, 31% of the Creative Class, and 33% of the Working Class are immigrants, while in British Columbia, 29% of the Service Class and Creative Class is immigrant, and 27% of the Working Class is immigrant (Exhibit 14). Alberta behaves most similarly to that of the Canadian average, while Québec and Manitoba have similar immigrant labour force percentages. The East Coast provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick consistently fall below the national average immigrant labour force composition across all the classes. Of these provinces, all have Service Class and Working Class immigrant labour force compositions at, or below, 5%, which is approximately one-quarter that of the Canadian average, while the Creative Class immigrant labour force remains below 10%. Saskatchewan has an immigrant labour force composition similar to that of the Eastern provinces, than compared to its neighbours in Alberta or Manitoba. Immigrant CMA workforce While broad patterns within Canada s immigrant labour force begin to appear at the provincial level, examining the immigrant workforce at the CMA level allows Percentage of class labour force that is immigrant by province Exhibit 14 Service Class Creative Class Working Class Geography Immigrants Total Share Immigrants Total Share Immigrants Total Share Canada 1,611,328 7,798,550 21% 1,086,133 4,871,270 22% 800,320 3,699,950 22% Newfoundland and Labrador 1, ,758 1% 2,580 60,983 4% ,690 1% Prince Edward Island ,815 3% ,330 5% ,645 2% Nova Scotia 10, ,233 5% 10, ,003 9% 2,890 97,195 3% New Brunswick 6, ,498 4% 5,130 91,538 6% 2,215 88,200 3% Québec 220,573 1,848,958 12% 145,753 1,136,298 13% 94, ,115 11% Ontario 863,163 2,973,978 29% 599,238 1,959,803 31% 476,470 1,429,885 33% Manitoba 38, ,050 13% 20, ,025 14% 26, ,225 21% Saskatchewan 12, ,215 6% 8, ,305 7% 4, ,085 4% Alberta 154, ,245 18% 103, ,185 19% 70, ,645 16% British Columbia 300,258 1,036,028 29% 186, ,583 29% 122, ,855 27% Yukon 1,030 8,915 12% 685 6,080 11% 265 3,475 8% Northwest Territories 1,113 10,865 10% 693 7,480 9% 270 4,675 6% Nunavut 138 6,008 2% 228 3,703 6% 20 2,275 1% 25