Data and Collection Methodologies
Going Global with Big Data
Across the world, skills are one of the biggest data gaps in labour market information (LMI). In addition to being difficult to identify and measure, skills are not clearly defined. As we noted in a recent LMI Insight report, these skills data gaps can only be meaningfully filled if skills are linked to existing labour market data such as occupations.…Read More
Balancing Act: Considering Trade-Offs for Improving LMI
Labour Market Information Needs to Evolve in Parallel to the Challenges at Hand When federal and provincial ministers responsible for labour markets first endorsed the creation of a new Labour Market Information Council (LMIC), one of the core aims was to address the need for more local, granular data. In a country as large as…Read More
Untangling Vacancy Data
As unemployment drops to historic lows (5.5% as of June 2019), the background conversation on labour and skills shortages has been propelled to the forefront. As noted by my colleague Anthony, finding the right indicator, or combination of indicators, to identify and monitor labour shortages, skill shortages, and skill mismatches is a major challenge. In addition…Read More
A tale of two provinces: Measuring Interprovincial Employment
Last year, I made the decision to relocate from British Columbia – where I had worked and studied for the past 5 years – to Ontario, in order to embark in a new professional opportunity at LMIC. Although the decision felt life-changing, I knew I wasn’t alone in making it. Many of my friends were…Read More
Local, Granular data for Beginners
On my first day at LMIC, I was warmly welcomed by the Research and Analytics team. My new colleagues were excited to tell me about their ongoing data collection and analytics projects – but they did so using strange terms like POR, FOW, ELMLP, and LG. Although I was a little overwhelmed by the number of acronyms, one…Read More
Modernizing how information is communicated
We have long heard the call for labour market information – and data more generally – to be communicated and shared with Canadians in a more user-friendly way. This was one of the reasons why the Labour Market Information Council (LMIC) was created. As both the Chief Statistician of Canada and one of the founding Board members…Read More
Earnings Comparison Groups
Researchers across the country — myself included — eagerly anticipated the release of the Education and Labour Market Longitudinal Platform (ELMLP) in November last year. By linking postsecondary education (PSE) and apprenticeship training records to individual tax returns, this platform provides a major step forward in addressing what some have called a “data deficit” in Canada. A recent LMI…Read More
ELM L.P. Has Dropped
How much does your income increase if you complete an apprenticeship training program or a college, university, or other post-secondary program? Do people leave the province in which they studied after leaving their post-secondary programs? Does university attendance increase social mobility? These are just a few of the questions that can be answered definitively with…Read More
LMI and Microdata Linkages
This year’s Canadian Research Data Centre Network (CRDCN) conference was held in Hamilton from 17–19 October. Its title — “Building an Inclusive, Prosperous and Healthy Canada: What Can We Learn from the Data?” — was irresistible from a labour market information (LMI) perspective. Most presentations focused on health issues, but several labour market–related topics included the aging population, unemployment,…Read More
Hidden biases and mindful data
From Ottawa to Montreal At LMIC, we see collaboration and information sharing as key ingredients to the success of what we do. This includes, among other things, understanding how better access to quality labour market information (LMI) can improve outcomes for underrepresented populations. Thus, when I learned that the Quebec Inter-University Centre for Social Statistics (QICSS) conference focused…Read More