THE UNEMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE OF INDIVIDUALS

Abstract

In this study we examine the unemployment experience of workers who became unemployed during the period 1972 through 1979 in the 19 regions across the country, a group that represents about 58 per cent of the Canadian labour force. The employment/unemployment experience of workers over this eight-year period was derived from a data base constructed from the one-in ten sample of the administrative records kept by the Department of Employment and Immigration concerning Unemployment Insurance (UI) claims, Records of Employment and certain income tax records of individuals in Canada. Direct estimates were made of variables such as number of unemployment spells, the duration of these spells, the proportion of these spells covered by UI benefits and the unemployment rate experienced by individuals over the study period. We were then able to compare the structure and relative hardship of unemployment in a region, as indicated by the results, with the view gained by comparing the overall unemployment rates of various regions.unemployment experience, regional unemployment, labor markets, Canada