Job security and gig work

Proportion of the employed population whose main job consists of short-term tasks, projects, or jobs, with no assurance of steady employment.

Job security is captured by different indicators which describe workers’ ability to stay employed in their current job.

A few indicators from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the LFS supplements are available to understand job security:

• Employees who have temporary or permanent jobs (LFS)
• Types of self-employment, such as workers with incorporated and unincorporated businesses, self-employed with and without paid help (LFS)
• Perceptions of job security (LFS supplement)

Gig work is measured in the quarterly Labour Force Survey (LFS) supplement on Labour Market and Socioeconomic Indicators (LMSI). Tax data can also be used to identify gig workers.
In the supplement to the LFS, gig workers are employed people who

• accept short-term tasks, projects or jobs,
• are paid per unit of work delivered (e.g., for a single task, project, or short contract),
• have no assurance of steady employment, and
• must make specific efforts on their own to obtain each project, task or job.

Questions posed to respondents that may be used to identify gig work include:

• Is your main job permanent?
• What would you say best describes your current situation in your main job?
• Do you have any partners or co-owners in your (main/side) business?
• Excluding your main job or business, have you earned any money by freelancing, doing a paid gig, or completing a short-term job or task during the last 12 months?

• Labour Force Survey (LFS)
• LFS supplements:

• Labour Market and Socio-economic Indicators
• Labour Market Indicators

• Data on gig work are available for the fourth quarter of 2022 and 2023 based on results from the LMSI supplement.
• The following tables provide monthly data on employment by class of worker and on employee job permanency:
• Table 14-10-0027-01 – Employment by class of worker, annual (x 1,000)
• Table 14-10-0072-01 – Job permanency (permanent and temporary) by industry, annual (x 1,000)

• Own-account worker rate, 2023 (Quality of Employment in Canada, July 25, 2024)
• Study: Experiences of self-employed workers in Canada, 2023 (The Daily, June 3, 2024)
• Defining and measuring the gig economy using survey data (Labour Statistics: Research Papers, March 4, 2024)
• Measuring the Gig Economy in Canada Using Administrative Data (Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series, December 16, 2019)

• Taxes and the platform economy – Gig economy (Canada Revenue Agency)
• Do you work in the gig economy? Here's what you need to know (Canada Revenue Agency, March 23, 2022)