Census learning centre
Questions and concepts related to labour variables
Release date: March 29, 2023
Catalogue number: 982000032021029
Hello and welcome to the "Questions and concepts related to labour variables" video.
This video is designed to give you a basic understanding of the Labour questions and concepts. It introduces the three subtopics of data that are collected from the 14 questions on labour. It will help you understand the target population of labour data, why labour questions are asked, and the reference periods of labour questions.
- Subject
- Labour
- Length
- 00:06:05
- Cost
- Free
- Links
Watch the video
Concept video: Questions and concepts related to labour variables - Transcription
(The Statistics Canada symbol and "Canada" wordmark appear on screen with the title: "Concept video: Questions and concepts related to labour variables.")
Welcome to the "Questions and concepts related to labour variables" video.
This video will help you understand the target population of labour data, why labour questions are asked, and the reference periods of labour questions.
Let’s start with the Census target population of labour data.
(An image of the first page of the 2021 Census of Population 2A-L long form paper questionnaire appears.)
Labour force questions are only included on the Census of Population 2A-L and 2A-R long form questionnaires. As a result, the target population differs from the Census of Population 2A short form questionnaire.
If you view any of the Labour videos, it’s important to keep in mind that when it comes to census labour statistics, data are only collected from the 2A-L and 2A-R Census of Population long form questionnaires.
Therefore, any subsequent reference to the “Census of Population” refers to the 2A-L and 2A-R.
Instead of collecting data from all people who usually live in Canada, on Indian reserves and settlements, permanent residents, non-permanent residents, as well as individuals and their families who hold work or study permits, labour force questions exclude a proportion of the population.
These exclusions include:
- Population aged 14 and younger
- Foreign residents such as representatives of a foreign government assigned to an embassy, high commission or other diplomatic mission in Canada.
- Residents of another country who are visiting Canada temporarily.
- Canadian citizens living abroad.
- Full-time members of the Canadian Forces stationed outside Canada.
- Members of the armed forces of another country stationed in Canada.
- People living in institutional collective dwellings such as hospitals, nursing homes and penitentiaries; and
- People living in non-institutional collective dwellings such as work camps, hotels and motels, and student residences.
Why include questions on Labour?
Federal and provincial departments, municipalities, educational institutions, labour market researchers, regional development organizations and some private enterprises use data on labour market activities.
The Census of Population can provide labour data at a regional or local level and for small population groups—something that is not available through other household surveys such as the Labour Force Survey.
It also provides information for data driven insights and decision making.
Now let us look at the questions on Labour.
(An image appears showing the breakdown of the 2021 Census questions on labour. The following is the information contained in the image:
The data on labour are collected from questions 38 to 49 and 54 to 55 of the 2021 Census of Population. These questions are asked of every person aged 15 or older not living in an institution or collective dwelling.
These 14 Labour questions collect data on the three subtopics of Labour, which are labour force activity, job characteristics, and work activity.
Questions 38 to 42 are used to determine Labour force status, whether a person was:
- Employed
- Unemployed; or
- Not in the labour force.
These categories calculate the three key rates used to analyze the labour force. The:
- Participation rate
- Employment rate; and
- Unemployment rate.
Question 43 is a filter question meant to identify and direct the experienced population, that is, the population that worked sometime in the period from January 1, 2020, to May 8, 2021, to continue to the following labour questions.
Questions 44 to 49 are used to determine job characteristics for which the person worked. In what:
- Industry
- Occupation; and
Was the respondent an:
- Employee; or were they
- Self employed.
These last two categories are also known as Class of Worker.
Industry refers to the general nature of the business carried out in the establishment and where the person worked. These responses will be classified using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).
Occupation refers to the work a person was doing during the reference week, as determined by their kind of work and the description of the main activities in their job. These responses will be classified using the National Occupational Classification (NOC).
Questions 54 and 55 are used to determine work activity and main reasons for level of work activity.
- How many weeks did the respondent work and, during those weeks, did the respondent work mostly full-time or part-time?
- What were the main reasons a person did not work the full year or mostly part-time?
(Two images from questions 54b and 55b appear showing the reasons a person did not work the full year or mostly part-time. The first image provides the following options for not working the full year:
The second image provides the following options for working mostly part-time:
Finally, we will explain the various reference periods of the labour questions.
It is important to know that the three subtopics previously mentioned—that is, labour force activity, job characteristics, and work activity—each refer to a different period.
(A similar image from earlier appears showing the breakdown of the 2021 Census questions on labour. In addition, three new pieces of information are added to the three subtopics as follows:
It is essential to be aware of the reference period applicable to each set of questions to be able to correctly tabulate and analyze the data obtained.
- The labour force activity questions refer to the week preceding Census Day, that is known as the reference week, which is from Sunday, May 2 to Saturday, May 8, 2021.
- The job characteristics questions refer to the census year, which is from January 1, 2020, to May 11, 2021; and
- The work activity questions refer to the year before census which is from January 1 to December 31, 2020.
(The words, "Thank you for watching the 'Questions and concepts related to labour variables' video" appear on screen.)
This concludes the “Questions and concepts related to labour variables” video.
(The census logo appears with a link, which is also available to view here: Census of Population. The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) 978-0-660-47487-8 appears underneath the link.)
For more detailed information regarding concepts, variables, methodology, historical comparability and other elements, please refer to Statistics Canada's census web pages.
(The "Canada" wordmark appears.)
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