Are good jobs disappearing in Canada?

Based on their analysis of changes in the share of jobs falling in certain real wage categories over 1997-2004, the authors suggest that well-paid jobs ($25 an hour or more) are not disappearing in Canada. Morissette and Johnson also find little evidence that the relative importance of well-paid jobs has declined or that the relative importance of low-paid jobs (less than$10 hour) has risen over the past two decades.Labor market - Canada ; Business cycles - Canada ; Economic conditions - Canada

The Evolution of Wealth Inequality in Canada, 1984-1999

Using data from the Assets and Debts Survey of 1984 and the Survey of Financial Security of 1999, we document the evolution of wealth inequality in Canada between 1984 and 1999. Our main findings are as follows: 1) Wealth inequality has increased between 1984 and 1999; 2) the growth in wealth inequality has been associated with substantial declines in real average and median wealth for recent immigrants and young couples with children; 3) real median wealth and real average wealth rose much more among families whose major income recipient is a university graduate than among other families; 4) real median and average wealth fell among families whose major income recipient is aged 25–34 and increased among those whose major income recipient is aged 55 and over; 5) the aging of the Canadian population over the 1984–1999 period has tended to reduce wealth inequality; 6) changes in permanent income do not explain a substantial portion of the growing gap between low-wealth and high-wealth families. Factors that may have contributed to rising wealth inequality—which cannot be quantified with existing data sets—include differences in the growth of inheritances, inter vivos transfers, rates of return on savings and number of years worked full- time. In particular, rates of return on savings may have increased more for wealthy family units than for their poorer counterparts as a result of the booming stock market during the 1990s.inequality, wealth, assets, debts, net worth

Pourquoi l'inegalite des gains hebdomadaires a-t-elle augmente au Canada?

L'inegalite de la remuneration hebdomadaire a connu une croissance durant les annees 80 au Canada, et cette croissance depend de trois faits concourants. En premier lieu, le salaire horaire reel des jeunes travailleurs a chute de plus de 10 %. Deuxiemement, le pourcentage d'employes qui travaillent de 35 a 40 heures par semaine a leur emploi principal a chute, tandis que la proportion d'employes qui travaillent 50 heures ou plus par semaine a augmente. Troisiemement, on enregistre une tendance a la hausse chez les travailleurs qui touchent un salaire eleve a faire de longues semaines de travail. Nous croyons que toute hypothese avancee pour expliquer l'accroissement enregistre au titre de l'inegalite des gains hebdomadaires doit concilier ces trois faits. Une part de 30 % environ de la croissance de l'inegalite est attribuable aux changements sectoriels survenus dans la distribution de l'emploi selon l'industrie et le statut syndical. La reduction qui frappe le salaire minimum reel et la taille moyenne de l'entreprise n'est pas vraiment responsable de l'accroissement enregistre au titre des differences entre l'age et le revenu. Le progres technologique axe sur la main-d'oeuvre qualifiee pourrait avoir augmente la dispersion des salaires horaires et des heures de travail hebdomadaires; de fait, cette hypothese est compatible, a priori, avec les mouvements observes. D'autres facteurs, cependant, peuvent avoir joue un role egalement -- sinon plus --- important. L'intensification de la concurrence, le transfert possible aux entreprises du pouvoir de negociation (entre les entreprises et la main-d'oeuvre), l'accroissement de la mobilite des entreprises, la plus grande accessibilite du Canada au commerce international, l'augmentation des frais fixes de main-d'oeuvre et, possiblement, des frais de formation sont autant de facteurs qui peuvent sous-tendre la croissance de l'inegalite de la remuneration hebdomadaire au Canada.Globalization and the labour market, Labour, Wages, salaries and other earnings

Why Has Inequality in Weekly Earnings Increased in Canada?

Inequality in weekly earnings increased in the eighties in Canada. The growth in inequality occurred in conjunction with three facts. First, real hourly wages of young workers dropped more than 10%. Second, the percentage of employees working 35-40 hours per week in their main job fell and the fraction of employees working 50 hours or more per week rose. Third, there was a growing tendency for highly paid workers to work long workweeks. We argue that any set of explanations of the increase in weekly earnings inequality must reconcile these three facts. Sectoral changes in the distribution of employment by industry and union status explain roughly 30% of the rise in inequality. The reduction in real minimum wages and the decline of average firm size explain very little of the growth in age-earnings differentials. Skill-biased technological change could have increased both the dispersion of hourly wages and the dispersion of weekly hours of work and thus, is consistent a priori with the movements observed. Yet other factors may have played an equally important - if not more important - role. The growth in competitive pressures, possible shifts in the bargaining power (between firms and labour) towards firms, the greater locational mobility of firms, the increase in Canada's openness to international trade, the rise in fixed costs of labour and possibly in training costs may be major factors behind the growth in weekly earnings inequality in Canada.Globalization and the labour market, Labour, Wages, salaries and other earnings

Donnees canadiennes recentes sur la qualite des emplois selon la taille des entreprises

Nous presentons ici des donnees recentes sur les caracteristiques des emplois selon la taille des entreprises au Canada. Puisant a meme diverses enquetes-menages, nous reunissons de nombreuses donnees sur les salaires, les avantages sociaux et les horaires de travail dans les petites et les grandes entreprises. Nous montrons que l'ecart salarial entre ces deux types d'entreprises est demeure passablement stable au cours de la derniere decennie. Apres avoir isole les effets des caracteristiques observables des travailleurs et ceux qui sont propres aux branches d'activite, nous constatons que les salaires verses par les grandes entreprises sont de 15 % a 20 % plus eleves que ceux des petites entreprises. La protection a l'egard de la retraite demeure au moins quatre fois plus elevee dans les grandes entreprises que dans les petites. Tandis que l'ecart a ce chapitre entre les grandes et les petites entreprises n'a pas augmente au fil des ans pour les hommes, certaines indications montrent qu'il s'est elargi pour les femmes. Nous evaluons egalement la mesure dans laquelle les horaires de travail varient entre les petites et les grandes entreprises. Nos resultats indiquent que, par comparaison avec les travailleurs des grandes entreprises, les employes des petites entreprises travaillent au moins le meme nombre d'heures hebdomadaires. En outre, ils sont plus susceptibles de travailler plus de cinq jours par semaine. Cela signifie que l'ecart salarial ne peut pas s'expliquer par une semaine de travail plus longue dans les grandes entreprises. Dans la mesure ou les travailleurs preferent travailler le jour, la plus grande frequence du travail par postes dans les grandes entreprises oeuvrant dans le secteur de la production de biens est l'un des aspects qui rend moins attirants les horaires de travail dans les grandes societes. Selon la theorie des ecarts compensateurs, l'ecart salarial selon la taille de l'entreprise peut temoigner en partie de la volonte des grandes entreprises de compenser les travailleurs pour le travail par postes. Nous verifions cette hypothese et en venons a la conclusion que le travail par postes n'a pour ainsi dire aucun effet sur le salaire consenti par les entreprises. Nos resultats mettent en evidence la necessite d'examiner plusieurs aspects du travail pour determiner de quelle facon la qualite des emplois varie entre les petites et les grandes entreprises.Business performance and ownership, Employment and unemployment, Hours of work and work arrangements, Labour, Non-wage benefits, Small and medium-sized businesses, Wages, salaries and other earnings

The Evolution of Pension Coverage of Young and Prime-aged Workers in Canada

In this paper, we assemble data from several household surveys to document how pension coverage of young and older workers has evolved in Canada between the mid-1980s and the mid-1990s. Our main findings are the following. First, both administrative data from the Pension Plans in Canada (PPIC) database and data from household surveys show an increase in RPP coverage for women. In contrast, while PPIC data show a decrease in coverage for men, household surveys indicate no downward trend for males. Second, sample aggregates hide interesting differences within the population. We find that the pension coverage of young workers (aged 25-34) has declined relative to older workers (aged 35-54). Young males have experienced a decline in coverage while RPP coverage has remained fairly stable for older men. In contrast, pension coverage has remained fairly constant for young women but has risen substantially for older women. Third, the decline in unionism and shifts towards industries with low-coverage explain most of the decrease in coverage observed among young men. Fourth, the growth in older women's coverage appears to be the result of their greater propensity to be employed in highly paid/highly covered occupations.Income, pensions, spending and wealth, Labour, Non-wage benefits, Pension plans and funds and other retirement income programs, Wages, salaries and other earnings

Offshoring and Employment in Canada: Some Basic Facts

In this study, we assemble a wide variety of data sets in an attempt to produce a set of stylized facts regarding offshoring and the evolution of Canadian employment in recent years. Our main finding is that, in almost all of the data sets used, there is, so far, little evidence of a correlation between offshoring, however defined, and the evolution of employment and layoff rates. While our analyses are fairly simple, they all suggest that if foreign outsourcing has had an impact on Canadian employment and worker displacement so far, this impact is likely to be modest and thus, unlikely to be detected either with industry-level or occupation-level data.Employment and unemployment, Globalization and the labour market, International trade, Labour, Service imports

Working More? Working Less? What Do Canadian Workers Prefer?

Faced with high unemployment rates, an unequal distribution of worktime, and shifts to temporary, part-time and contract employment, Canadian workers may prefer to change their work hours. Using data from the Survey of Work Arrangements of 1995, we find that two thirds of Canadian workers are satisfied with their work hours. The majority of workers who are not satisfied would prefer more hours for more pay rather than fewer hours for less pay. This finding is robust as it holds for each age group, education level, seniority level, industrial and occupational group. Workers most likely to want more work hours are generally young, have low levels of education, have little seniority, hold temporary jobs, work short hours and are employed in low-skill occupations. Workers who are the most likely to desire a shorter work week are professionals, managers, and natural and social science workers, have high hourly wage rates, possess high levels of education, have long job tenure, occupy permanent jobs and already work long hours. Calculations based on the Survey on Work Reduction of 1985 suggest that if Canadian workers were to voluntarily reduce their work week, the number of work hours available for redistribution would unlikely be sufficient to both eliminate underemployment and reduce unemployment. The potential for work time redistribution, as measured by the propensity to desire fewer hours, appears to be greatest (lowest) in age-education groups with relatively low (high) unemployment rates. This implies that the resulting decrease in unemployment and underemployment could be more pronounced in groups where workers are already relatively successful.Employment and unemployment, Hours of work and work arrangements, Labour, Wages, salaries and other earnings