In our previous LMI Insights, we noted the results of our recent survey, which showed that a large share of Canadians face difficulty finding the labour market information (LMI) they need and want. A second issue uncovered by our public opinion research is that even when LMI is found, it is often not easy to understand. At LMIC, we believe that accessible and understandable LMI is essential for making informed career decisions throughout our working lives.
Beginning in August 2018, we asked a wide variety of Canadians a series of questions about their LMI needs, including if it was difficult to understand the information found. The first set of results focuses on five groups: employed people, unemployed people, persons with disabilities, recent immigrants, and recent university and college graduates. (More detail about how we conducted these surveys can be found here).
The survey results provide a portrait of the difficulty that many face in understanding LMI: 59% of respondents who indicated they were unemployed said LMI is difficult to understand. The results are slightly lower but still significant for persons with disabilities (53%). Recent immigrants and recent graduates reported similar rates of difficulty, 45% and 43%, respectively. Employed persons reported far lower rates of difficulty in understanding LMI at only 28%.
Many Canadians Say Labour Market Information is Difficult to Understand
Note: "Difficult" includes all responses indicating that it is "somewhat difficult" or "very difficult" to understand labour market information. "Not at all difficult" or "not very difficult" responses are counted as "easy" on LMIC’s dashboard of results.
These results speak directly to the mandate of LMIC and to ensuring that Canadians have access to relevant LMI and labour market insights in an effective manner. To that end, we will continue to work with partners and stakeholders to find out how best to package and communicate LMI to a wide variety of Canadians and users
Check out the survey dashboard and previous LMI Insights Issue No. 5 on the difficulty in finding LMI: Is it Difficult to Find Information That Helps Career-Related Decisions?. Additional results will be made available as analyses are completed.
