Blog
What Does Gig Work Mean – And Does Anyone Agree?
Over the past two years, I’ve noticed an increase in interest around the labour market topic of gig work. Gig work, and the broader idea of a gig economy, pop up frequently on social media, in the news, and as topics of discussion in papers and research. I’m not the only one who has noticed…Read More
Students Need Labour Market Information – Here’s What They’re Asking For
Sixty-two per cent of students say that labour market information (LMI) has helped them make post-secondary education-related decisions. However, there are many students and career practitioners who are still uncertain about how to find and use LMI. When we first joined LMIC as co-op students, we had each experienced uncertainties around our futures in the…Read More
Tailor-Made LMI for Career-Related Decisions
People need labour market information (LMI)-such as details about wages, skill requirements and job vacancies-to make informed career, education and hiring decisions. Unfortunately, most Canadians report being unable to use LMI because it isn’t tailored to their specific needs. Different priorities in how LMI is curated and presented can lead to information that isn’t relevant…Read More
Self-employed Canadians increasingly going solo during COVID-19 pandemic
Self-employed individuals, like many other groups of workers, have been negatively affected by the pandemic over the past year and a half, but over the past two decades the rate of self-employment has been remarkably steady, representing between 15 and 16% of total employment (see Figure 1). Yet the composition of self-employment has considerably changed.…Read More
The Canadian Economics Association Conference: Employment Impacts of COVID-19
The COVID-19 crisis has affected everyone in Canada. But when it comes to labour market outcomes, a few groups have borne the brunt of the pandemic’s impacts: low-income earners, members of visible minority groups and women. At the 2021 Canadian Economics Association (CEA) conference, I chaired the (first) LMIC session exploring the labour market impacts…Read More
Rural and Urban Employment Impacted Differently by COVID-19
Across Canada, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented job losses. Employment fell by 0.4% (-73,500) in April and remains 2.2% (–422,750) below the pre-pandemic employment level in February 2020. The loss and partial recovery in employment has followed different patterns based on where workers live. As of April 2021, large cities remain the furthest…Read More
Double Penalty: Being a Woman and a Visible Minority
For the first time, Canada’s Labour Force Survey (LFS) began asking respondents in July 2020 to identify if they fall into one of several designated visible minority groups, including Arab, Black, Chinese, Filipino, Latin American, Southeast Asian and South Asian. Prior to this update, the only source for reliable labour market information (LMI) on visible…Read More
I Was Clueless About Skilled Trades, but You Don’t Have to Be
At the end of high school, I had to decide what I was going to do next. The only options I thought I had were to attend university or find a job straight after graduation. Entering an apprenticeship program to become a skilled tradesperson was nowhere on my radar. I had no idea about the…Read More
Producing and interpreting labour market information: Best practices
Canadians need high-quality and reliable labour market information (LMI) to support their workplace, career and educational decisions. However, LMI is produced by various groups that use diverse definitions, approaches and methodologies, making it difficult to evaluate the quality of LMI and how best to use and apply it. To address this challenge and ensure that…Read More
“Stay in School!”: Is More Education Actually Better?
“Stay in school!” is the rallying cry of many Canadian parents who see education as the key to improving their children’s standard of living. In fact, more education is generally associated with higher salaries and better working conditions. It is also linked to a wide range of other benefits, including increasing a country’s economic prosperity.…Read More