Immigrant workforce
Feb 11th 2003 | 1:36 am
#1
Thread Starter
Forum Regular
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 49
Immigrant workforce
There has been a lot of discussion with respect to immigrant employment opportunities in Canada. This is an interesting article from the Globe and MailPOSTED AT 9:11 AM EST Tuesday, February 11
Aging work force reliant on immigrants
By ALLISON DUNFIELD
Globe and Mail Update
Canada's labour force is aging at a pace so rapidly the country will soon be forced to rely heavily on immigrants as a way to stem the losses, 2001 census data released Tuesday show.
The data, one in a series of reports that Statistics Canada is gradually releasing, also showed a work force that grew 9.5 per cent and one that is increasingly made up of skilled workers.
The average age of workers is edging toward 40, Statscan said. In 2001 the average age of employees was 39 years, compared with 37.1 years in 1991.
The agency says if the trend toward an aging work force continues, by the end of this decade, 15 per cent of the country's workers will have reached retirement age.
"By 2011, when almost one-fifth of the baby boom generation will be at least 61 years of age, there will be a potential for shortages in certain occupations," the agency warns.
Boomers currently make up almost 50 per cent of Canada's work force.
In addition, fewer young people are entering the work force because lower fertility rates mean there are fewer available for work.
In 2001, there were 2.7 workers aged 20 to 34 for every one worker aged 55 and over. That number is down from 3.7 in 1981.
A demand for more skilled workers who are able to keep up with new technologies is also changing the face of Canada's work force, Statistics Canada said on Tuesday.
The number of workers in Canada's labour force has increased 9.5 per cent from 1991 to 2001, the census data show.
And nearly half that growth was as a result of people entering highly skilled occupations requiring university degrees. Jobs that required only high school diplomas or less only accounted for about a quarter of the increase in the labour force.
Canada will be also be forced to rely more on immigrants to fill the gaps required by fewer workers and new technologies, the census suggests.
"Canada has increasingly turned to immigration as a source of skills and knowledge," the agency said in a statement.
Tuesday's report says that immigrants who came to Canada during the 1990s and who were still working in 2001 represented 70 per cent of the growth of the labour force over the last decade.
"If current immigration rates continue, it is possible that immigration could account for virtually all labour force growth by 2011," Statistics Canada said.
In total, the labour force in Canada has increased 9.5 per cent over the decade from 1991 to 2001, by 1.3 million people. As of 2001, Canada's work force totalled 15.6 million people.
The data released Tuesday also includes details on class of worker, industry, place of work, mode of transportation, language, family structure and immigration.
Tuesday morning's information comes from the 2001 census data. The 2001 census was conducted on May 15, 2001.
Census information already released by Statistics Canada from the 2001 census included data on population, age and sex, language, family structure and immigration.
Aging work force reliant on immigrants
By ALLISON DUNFIELD
Globe and Mail Update
Canada's labour force is aging at a pace so rapidly the country will soon be forced to rely heavily on immigrants as a way to stem the losses, 2001 census data released Tuesday show.
The data, one in a series of reports that Statistics Canada is gradually releasing, also showed a work force that grew 9.5 per cent and one that is increasingly made up of skilled workers.
The average age of workers is edging toward 40, Statscan said. In 2001 the average age of employees was 39 years, compared with 37.1 years in 1991.
The agency says if the trend toward an aging work force continues, by the end of this decade, 15 per cent of the country's workers will have reached retirement age.
"By 2011, when almost one-fifth of the baby boom generation will be at least 61 years of age, there will be a potential for shortages in certain occupations," the agency warns.
Boomers currently make up almost 50 per cent of Canada's work force.
In addition, fewer young people are entering the work force because lower fertility rates mean there are fewer available for work.
In 2001, there were 2.7 workers aged 20 to 34 for every one worker aged 55 and over. That number is down from 3.7 in 1981.
A demand for more skilled workers who are able to keep up with new technologies is also changing the face of Canada's work force, Statistics Canada said on Tuesday.
The number of workers in Canada's labour force has increased 9.5 per cent from 1991 to 2001, the census data show.
And nearly half that growth was as a result of people entering highly skilled occupations requiring university degrees. Jobs that required only high school diplomas or less only accounted for about a quarter of the increase in the labour force.
Canada will be also be forced to rely more on immigrants to fill the gaps required by fewer workers and new technologies, the census suggests.
"Canada has increasingly turned to immigration as a source of skills and knowledge," the agency said in a statement.
Tuesday's report says that immigrants who came to Canada during the 1990s and who were still working in 2001 represented 70 per cent of the growth of the labour force over the last decade.
"If current immigration rates continue, it is possible that immigration could account for virtually all labour force growth by 2011," Statistics Canada said.
In total, the labour force in Canada has increased 9.5 per cent over the decade from 1991 to 2001, by 1.3 million people. As of 2001, Canada's work force totalled 15.6 million people.
The data released Tuesday also includes details on class of worker, industry, place of work, mode of transportation, language, family structure and immigration.
Tuesday morning's information comes from the 2001 census data. The 2001 census was conducted on May 15, 2001.
Census information already released by Statistics Canada from the 2001 census included data on population, age and sex, language, family structure and immigration.
