The Current Conditions of the Canadian Labor Market

A new study by Statistics Canada reveals that workers in Canada overwhelmingly leave their jobs for reasons other than being laid off, or unsatisfied with their employment.

Some of the most common reasons for leaving a job included going back to school, retiring, having an illness or disability, and personal/family reasons.

The study showed that lay-offs (identified as “job losers” in the study) afflicted less than 10% of respondents, with people who lost their job totaling at just 6.6%. Job leavers who were dissatisfied with their current employment made up just 1%, indicating strong employment satisfaction.

This is consistent with other data that is available on Canadian job satisfaction, which found that out of 15,167 respondents, 83% (12,730) reported being either satisfied or very satisfied with their current employment.

Retirees also account for a significant amount of exit from the workforce—but also increased labour demand for newcomers.

All this data paints a very positive picture of Canada’s labour market for newcomers, with strong job security, high labour satisfaction and an increasing demand for workers.