Natural Resources Canada
www.nrcan.gc.ca
Common menu bar links
Labour Force, 2001
During the past decade, three key factors have shaped the nation’s workforce: A demand for skills in the face of advancing technologies and the ‘knowledge based economy’; a working-age population that is increasingly made up of older people; and a growing reliance on immigration as a source of skills and labour force growth.
List of Labour Force, 2001 Maps:
Between 1991 and 2001, the number of people in the labour force increased by 1.3 million. Almost one-half of this growth occurred in highly skilled occupations that normally require university qualifications, while low skilled occupations requiring high school or less accounted for only a quarter of the increase.
At the same time, the workforce has become much “greyer”. The average age of the labour force rose from 37.1 years in 1991 to 39.0 years in 2001.
By the end of the decade, 15% of the labour force was within 10 years of retirement age. By 2011, when almost one fifth of the baby-boom generation will be at least 61 years of age, the potential exists for shortages in certain occupations.
The text was adapted from Statistics Canada, The changing profile of Canada's labour force, Catalogue number 96F0030XIE2001009.
