September 16, 2024 — Labour is a key input in a nation’s economic progress.
To fuel growth, a country needs to grow its labour force, increase capital goods, develop human capital, and boost technology.
In advance of the celebration of Labour Day on September 2, 2024, Statistics Canada released a snapshot of the country’s workforce.
The profile shows that the labour force has grown to under 21.3 million workers in 2023. To be included in the workforce, one has to be 15 years old and older.
One of the things that stood out from the August 29, 2024 report is the diversity of Canada’s labour force.
Statistics Canada noted that in 2023, 29.6 percent of Canadians in the labour force were part of a racialized group.
This percentage represents a total of 6.3 million people.
In this substantial workforce - employed or looking for work - Filipinos comprise one of the biggest groups with around 718,600.
Filipinos come fourth behind South Asians, 1.7 million; Chinese, 1.07 million; and Blacks, 961,700.
Fifth are Latin Americans, 439,100; and Arabs, 363,300.
Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem stressed in a June 24, 2024 speech before the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce the importance of growing the country’s labour force.
“If we look at the labour market with a longer-term lens, we see that Canada’s growing, inclusive and well-educated labour force has been a key advantage for our economy,” Macklem stated.
The central bank governor continued, “It’s been our primary source of economic growth for the past 25 years, and sustaining this advantage is critical to achieving strong non-inflationary growth going forward.”
“To sustain this advantage, we need to keep investing in an inclusive labour market, smart immigration, and a strong and accessible education system.”
Although Filipinos rank fourth in size of the total labour force comprised by visible minority groups, they hold the top spot in terms of employment rate.
[Statistics Canada defines employment rate as the number of persons employed expressed as a percentage of the population 15 years of age and over.]
In 2023, Filipinos had an employment rate of 74.2 percent, which is higher than South Asians (68.7 percent), Chinese (58.7 percent), and Blacks (66.8 percent).
Coming second and third to Filipinos in terms of employment rate are Latin Americans (69.5 percent) and Southeast Asians (69.2 percent).
Moreover, in Statistics Canada’s August 29, 2024 report, the country’s labour force is also highly educated.
“Canada continued to rank first in the G7 countries for the share of working-age people (aged 25 to 64) with a college or university credential (57.5%) in 2021,” the statistics agency noted.
“A key factor in this is our strong college sector. Nearly one in four working-age Canadians (24.6%) had a college certificate or diploma or similar credential in 2021, more than in any other G7 country,” Statistics Canada explained.
As well, an increasing share of working-age Canadians has completed a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Over 6.4 million people, or about one-third of the working-age population, reported having a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2021, which is up 4.3 percent from 2016.
“This increase was driven both by highly educated recent immigrants and by rising educational attainment among young adults,” the agency noted.
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