Employment

• Employment rate: percentage of the population who are employed.
• Unemployment rate: percentage of the labour force who are unemployed.
• Participation rate: percentage of the population who are in the labour force.

This indicator is measured in the Labour Force Survey (LFS).

Survey respondents are asked a number of questions about their labour force activity during the reference week of the monthly survey. A labour force status (employed, unemployed or not in the labour force) is assigned to each respondent aged 15 years and over, according to their responses.

Employed persons are those who, during the reference week, did any work for pay or profit or had a job and were absent from work. The employment rate is the number of employed persons expressed as a percentage of the population aged 15 years and over.

Unemployed persons are those who, during reference week, were without work, were available for work and were either on temporary layoff, had looked for work in the past four weeks or had a job to start within the next four weeks. The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed persons expressed as a percentage of the labour force.

The labour force refers to the civilian non-institutional population 15 years of age and over who, during the survey reference week, were employed or unemployed. The participation rate is the total labour force expressed as a percentage of the population aged 15 years and over.

For more information on measurement of this indicator in the LFS, please refer to Guide to the Labour Force Survey.

This indicator is also measured in the Census of Population. For more information on the measurement of this indicator in the Census of Population, please refer to Dictionary, Census of Population, 2021 – Labour force status. While the Census concepts of the employment rate, unemployment rate and participation rate are largely the same as in the LFS, there are a number of differences between the Census and the LFS affecting the comparability of estimates between the two sources as detailed in Dictionary, Census of Population, 2016 – Appendix 6.1.

• Labour Force Survey (LFS)
  • Table 14-10-0287-02 – Labour force characteristics by age group, monthly, seasonally adjusted
  • Table 14-10-0287-03 – Labour force characteristics by province, monthly, seasonally adjusted
  • Table 14-10-0287-01 – Labour force characteristics, monthly, seasonally adjusted and trend-cycle, last 5 months
  • Table 14-10-0017-01 – Labour force characteristics by sex and detailed age group, monthly, unadjusted for seasonality
  • Table 14-10-0019-01 – Labour force characteristics by educational attainment, monthly, unadjusted for seasonality
  • Table 14-10-0022-01 – Labour force characteristics by industry, monthly, unadjusted for seasonality (x 1,000)
  • Table 14-10-0082-01 – Labour force characteristics by immigrant status, three-month moving average, unadjusted for seasonality
  • Table 14-10-0084-01 – Labour force characteristics of immigrants by sex and age group, three-month moving average, unadjusted for seasonality
  • Table 14-10-0086-01 – Labour force characteristics of immigrants by educational attainment, three-month moving average, unadjusted for seasonality
  • Table 14-10-0088-01 – Labour force characteristics of immigrants by country of birth, three-month moving average, unadjusted for seasonality
  • Table 14-10-0117-01 – Labour force characteristics by educational degree, monthly, unadjusted for seasonality
  • Table 14-10-0373-01 – Labour force characteristics by visible minority group, three-month moving averages, monthly, unadjusted for seasonality
  • Table 14-10-0373-02 – Labour force characteristics by visible minority group and region, three-month moving averages, monthly, unadjusted for seasonality
• Census of Population
  • Table 98-10-0400-01 – Labour force status by highest level of education: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions

• Sustainable Development Goals: Goal 8, Decent Work and Economic Growth (Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals Report, December 13, 2022)
• Portrait of Youth in Canada: Data Visualization Tool (Statistics Canada – Data Visualization Products)
• Labour Force Survey in brief: Interactive app (Canadian Labour Market Observatory)
• Labour Market Indicators, by province and census metropolitan area, seasonally adjusted (Statistics Canada - Data Visualization Products)
• Labour Market Indicators, by province, territory and economic region, unadjusted for seasonality (Statistics Canada - Data Visualization Products)
• Employment by industry in rural Canada: Interactive dashboard (Statistics Canada - Data Visualization Products)
• Portrait of youth in Canada: Employment (Statistics Canada - Infographics, July 26, 2021)

• Labour Force Survey estimates are released monthly through The Daily. (Labour Force Survey release schedule)
• The improvement in the labour market outcomes of recent immigrants since the mid-2010s (Economic and Social Reports, February 28, 2024)
• Early career quality of employment of Indigenous graduates with a bachelor's degree, 2010 to 2018 cohorts (Education, learning and training: Research Paper Series, February 21, 2024)
• Self-employment among women in Canada (Insights on Canadian Society, December 4, 2023)
• Employment situations and child care arrangements after mothers' return to work following parental leave (Economic and Social Reports, November 22, 2023)
• Labour market participation of parents with young children (Economic and Social Reports, November 22, 2023)
• Research to Insights: Perspectives on growth, inflation and affordability (A Presentation Series from Statistics Canada About the Economy, Environment and Society, November 16, 2023)
• Labour market characteristics of persons with and without disabilities in 2022: Results from the Labour Force Survey (The Daily, August 30, 2023)
• Unemployment and job vacancies by education, 2016 to 2022 (Economic and Social Reports, May 24, 2023)
• Portrait of Women by the Relative Remoteness of their Communities, Series 4: Labour Characteristics (Studies on Gender and Intersecting Identities, March 20, 2023)
• Looking for work? Our labour market data can help with your job search (StatsCAN Plus, February 1, 2023)
• Canada leads the G7 for the most educated workforce, thanks to immigrants, young adults and a strong college sector, but is experiencing significant losses in apprenticeship certificate holders in key trades (The Daily, November 30, 2022)
• Study: Labour and economic characteristics of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people in Canada (The Daily, October 4, 2022)
• Labour and economic characteristics of lesbian, gay and bisexual people in Canada (Just the Facts, October 4, 2022)
• Study: Unmasking differences in women's full-time employment (The Daily, September 26, 2022)
• Unmasking differences in women's full-time employment (Insights on Canadian Society, September 26, 2022)
• Employment rate of mothers and fathers, 1976 to 2021 (Quality of Employment in Canada, May 30, 2022)
• Labour market impacts of COVID-19 on Indigenous people living off reserve in the provinces: March 2020 to August 2021 (StatCan COVID-19: Data to Insights for a Better Canada, November 16, 2021)
• Gender differences in employment one year into the COVID-19 pandemic: An analysis by industrial sector and firm size (Economic and Social Reports, May 26, 2021)
• Changes in employment by businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic: New insights on the experimental series of monthly business openings and closures (Economic and Social Reports, March 24, 2021)