What distinguishes Quebec from Canada, in terms of employment? The significantly greater proportion of women and young people who work. And the much faster wage catch-up for women.
I was able to make these striking findings by analyzing labor market data from Statistics Canada, the full year of 2023 of which was published on January 5. Follow me, I’ll demonstrate it to you in a few words and graphics.
First, the most recent data confirms the slowdown. The employment rate, or the proportion of Quebecers who work, literally melted between spring and the end of 2023, particularly among 25-54 year olds. Same thing in Ontario.
In May, 87.8% of 25-54 year olds in Quebec were working, a proportion which fell to 86.2% in December 2023. Obviously, the boosting of interest rates from the Bank of Canada is having its effect.
The slide in Ontario is similar. And when we look at the long term, we realize not only that more prime-age Quebecers are working, but that the gap has been increasing over time for 10 years. A chart is worth a thousand words (I cleaned the data of the main effects of the pandemic to better see the trends).
This boom among 25-54 year olds is due in particular to women, who are more encouraged to work with reduced-contribution daycare centers launched by Pauline Marois in 1998.
In December, 85.2% of women in this age group worked in Quebec, almost as many as men (87.4%). Elsewhere, the rate among women aged 25-54 goes down to 78.6% in Alberta. It is 80.1% in Ontario and 81.2% in British Columbia.
It is not for nothing that Chrystia Freeland, federal Minister of Finance, implemented the same affordable daycare measure for all other provinces in 2021.
That said, it would be wrong to think that Family Assistance is the only reason that explains Quebec’s success. Among young people aged 15 to 24 – the age before children, very often – the gap with the rest of Canada is as great if not greater than for those aged 25 to 54.
In Ontario, in particular, the deflation of the youth employment rate in the last quarter is worrying. In December 2023, only 51.2% of 15-24 year olds were working, the lowest proportion in 11 years (excluding the pandemic period). The rate was 57% at the start of 2023.
In Quebec, meanwhile, the same group had 64.3% workers in December 2023, a high among large Canadian provinces. Wow!1
The portrait of Quebec is less rosy among those aged 55 and over. For this age group, we are lagging behind the three other large provinces, downright. At least the gap with Ontario has narrowed by half in the past 10 years. And seeing the trend of the two previous age groups in recent years, we can predict an improvement in the situation.
But back to women. Quebec stands out not only for the proportion who work, but also for the greater pay equity with men.
Over the past 20 years, the hourly wages of women have gradually caught up with those of men in Quebec. In 2003, women earned 84.6% of men’s hourly wages, a proportion which rose to 87.9% in 2013, then to 91.2% in 2023.
Using the average hourly wage essentially eliminates the effect of part-time from the comparisons.
Elsewhere, the gap remains much wider. Ontarians are at 87.2% in 2023 and Albertans are at only 81%. A chart is worth a thousand words.
In addition to probable salary discrimination, the gap between the salaries of men and women could be explained by the type of job held and the sector.
Among other things, there are fewer women (43.6% of the total) than men in the professional, scientific and technical services sector, where salaries exceed $40 per hour, on average. It is in this sector that we find computer scientists and engineers, among others.
Same thing in the imposing construction industry (women make up 13% of the total). Wages are good there ($35.85 per hour), Quebec unions having raised them to a level as high as in Ontario, which is exceptional, since wages are generally lower in Quebec.
Paradoxically, it is in the scientific and technical professional services sector that the wage gap between women and men is greatest. In Quebec and Ontario, women earned 78% of men’s wages in 2023.
It is impossible to say, at this level of analysis, whether the gap can be explained by the more specific type of job held.
In closing, a word on the impact of the pandemic on women’s work. More present in services (54% of the total), more women actually lost their jobs in 2020 in all the major provinces. In Quebec, the decrease was 6.2% in 2020, compared to 4.6% among men.
On the other hand, over the next three years, job creation was greater among women, so that the cumulative effect of the four years since the start of 2020 is practically the same for both sexes, with net employment of 4.1% among men in Quebec, compared to 4% among women.
So much for employment, dear readers!
1. We should see if this high, growing employment rate among young people has an impact on school dropouts in Quebec.