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March 11, 2022LABOUR FORCE SURVEY: VISIBLE MINORITIES, FEBRUARY 2022 Starting with July 2020, Statistics Canada has added a question to the Labour Force Survey asking respondents about whether they identify with visible minority populations. The population group categories of response are the same as those found in the 2016 Census: White, South Asian (e.g., East Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan), Chinese, Black, Filipino, Arab, Latin American, Southeast Asian (e.g., Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, Thai), West Asian (e.g., Iranian, Afghan), Korean, Other.
Labour force characteristics for Indigenous populations are reported separately in the Labour Force Survey.
This analysis will focus on conditions reported by respondents for February 2022 and year-over-year changes from February 2021. Results are not seasonally adjusted. Unless otherwise indicated, data refer to populations aged 15-69.
February 2022
Nationally, the unemployment rate of those who identify with a visible minority population (6.7%) was higher than the unemployment rate (5.2%) of those that did not identify as Indigenous or in a visible minority population. The unemployment rate for those who identify with a visible minority group was higher than for those who did not identify as Indigenous or in a visible minority population in all regions except for Atlantic Canada and Saskatchewan. This gap was highest in Quebec. In Atlantic Canada, the unemployment rate was 6.8% for those that identify with a visible minority group, which was 2.3 percentage points lower than for those that did not identify as Indigenous or in a visible minority population.
National participation rates were higher for those who identify with a visible minority population (74.9%) than for those that did not identify as Indigenous or in a visible minority population (74.3%). Participation rates of those who identify with a visible minority population were higher in all regions in February except Ontario. In Atlantic Canada, those who identify with a visible minority population reported an 75.2% participation rate, compared to a 69.8 % participation rate for those that do not identify as Indigenous or in a visible minority population.
Nationally, employment rates were slightly lower for those who identified with visible minority populations (69.9%) than for those who did not identify as Indigenous or in a visible minority population (70.4%). In Ontario and Alberta, employment rates were lower for visible minority populations than for those who do not identify as Indigenous or in a visible minority population. Employment rates were higher for those who identify with visible minority populations in Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia when compared against those who do not identify as Indigenous or in a visible minority population. The gap between the employment rates for those who identified with visible minority populations and those who did not was highest in Atlantic Canada.
Unemployment rates were higher across almost all visible minority populations than for those who did not identify as Indigenous or in a visible minority population. The exception is among men who identify as Filipino, Southeast Asian, and South Asian, and Latin American women. (Some of the results for unemployment rates have limited data quality and should be used with caution).
Labour force participation rates for those identifying with a visible minority was higher for men and lower for women when compared those who do not identify as Indigenous or a visible minority. Among those that identified with specific visible minority populations, participation rates were highest among Latin American men and Filipino women. Participation rates among women were notably lower than among men for people who identified as South Asian, Chinese, Arab, and Latin American.
Employment rates among men who identify as a visible minority were higher than for those who do not identify as Indigenous or a visible minority, while they were lower among women identifying as a visible minority. Women in many visible minority populations had lower employment rates than men, particularly where lower participation rates and higher unemployment rates were observed.
Unemployment rates in Canada were higher for all age cohorts of visible minority populations, when compared with those that do not identify as Indigenous or in a visible minority population.
Participation rates of visible minority populations were higher for older workers, compared to the same age cohort that does not identify as Indigenous or visible minority populations. Among youth and core aged workers, participation rates among visible minority populations were lower than among similarly-aged populations that do not identify as Indigenous or in a visible minority population.
With lower participation and higher unemployment rates, employment rates were lower for visible minority youth and core aged populations. With stronger participation rates (and despite higher unemployment rates), the employment rate of older visible minority populations was higher than older Canadians who do not identify as Indigenous or in a visible minority population.
Year-over-Year Change (February 2022 vs February 2021)
Nationally, the unemployment rate among those who identify as visible minority populations declined from 9.8% in February 2021 to 6.7% in February 2022. All regions reported declines in visible minority population unemployment rates when compared to the previous year, with the largest decline in Quebec.
The unemployment rate among Canadians who do not identify as Indigenous or in a visible minority population also declined from 8.0% in February 2021 to 5.2% in February 2022. All regions reported declines in unemployment rates among those that do not identify as Indigenous or in a visible minority population from a year earlier.
Participation rate among Canadians who identify as a visible minority increased slightly from 73.6% in February 2021 to 74.9% in February 2022. Participation rates among visible minority populations were lower when compared to the previous year in Atlantic Canada and British Columbia. Nationally, participation rates among those who do not identify as Indigenous or in a visible minority population increased slightly from 73.6% in February 2021 to 74.3% in February 2022 with gains in all regions except British Columbia.
Employment rates among Canadians who identify as a visible minority population increased 3.2 percentage points from a year earlier to 69.9% in February 2022. All regions except Atlantic Canada reported gains in employment rates of visible minority populations. Employment rates among Canadians who do not identify as Indigenous or in a visible minority population increased 2.6 percentage points from a year earlier to 70.4% in February 2022. There were increases in all regions.
Unemployment rates across all visible minority populations were lower in February 2022 when compared to a year earlier. Unemployment rates among both men and women visible minority populations also declined from the previous year. Unemployment rate for February 2021 was not available for Southeast Asian men.
Participation rate among all visible minority population groups, except Chinese and Latin American, increased year-over-year in February 2022. Among men, year-over-year participation rates fell among those who identify as Chinese and Southeast Asian. Among women, year-over-year participation rates were lower for those who identify as Chinese and Latin American in February 2022.
Employment rates across all visible minority groups increased year-over-year in February 2022. Southeast Asian men and women who identify as Chinese and Latin American saw their employment rates decline from a year earlier.
Unemployment rate of visible minority populations declined year-over-year for all age groups. Unemployment rates for those who do not identify as Indigenous or in a visible minority population were also lower across all age groups from a year earlier.
Participation rate of visible minority populations increased year-over-year for youth and core-aged workers and declined for older workers. Participation rates among those who do not identify as Indigenous or in a visible minority population followed the same trend.
Employment rates of visible minority populations increased year-over-year across all age cohorts. The same trend occurred for those who do not identify as Indigenous or in a visible minority population.
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, February 2022
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