2. Significance
• An increase in the employment rate will demonstrate
that either labour force participation rate has increased
or the unemployment rate has decreased; both are
encouraging signs for the labour market.
• The higher the employment rate, the more people with
an income, resulting in a larger tax base and more
sustainable public finances.
3. Core Indicator
• The employment rate is measured by taking the total
number of employed persons as proportion of the
working age population, defined as the total population
15 years of age and older.
• Canada’s employment rate was 61.8% in 2011, slightly
up from 61.6% in 2010 (see following charts).
5. Canada vs. Other OECD Countries
• In 2011, Canada’s employment rate was above average
when compared to other OECD countries (see following
chart).
• Canada ranked 8th among the twenty OECD
countries, with a rate of 6.7 percentage points above
the OECD average.
• Canada’s employment rate was 7.6 percentage points
lower than Switzerland, who had the highest rate among
the OECD countries.
6. Employment Rates in OECD Countries
2011
85.0
75.0
65.0
55.0
45.0
Source: OECD.StatExtracts, “LFS by sex and age”
7. Canada’s Major CMAs
• Unsurprisingly, Alberta’s two CMAs – Calgary and
Edmonton – had the highest employment rates among
Canada’s major CMAs in 2011 at 70.2% and
69.5%, respectively (see following chart).
• In contrast, two of Ontario’s major manufacturing
CMAs, London and Sudbury, had the lowest employment
rates at 58.9% and 59.7%, respectively.
9. CMA Trends (2000 to 2011)
• Growth in employment rate between 2000 and 2011 was
largest in Québec City (up 8.1%) and St. John’s (up 7.0%)
(see following chart).
• London had the largest decrease in employment rate
(down (6.0%), contributing the the lowest employment
rate in 2011.
10. Change in the Employment Rate in
Major CMAs, 2000-2011
10.0
8.0
6.0
4.0
2.0
0.0
-2.0
-4.0
-6.0
-8.0
Source: Statistics Canada, CANSIM Table 282-0053 (LFS).
