Economic and Social Reports, November 2023

Released: 2023-11-22

In total, five new articles are available in today's release of Economic and Social Reports.

Labour market participation and employment situations of parents with young children

As part of Budget 2021, the Government of Canada invested $27.2 billion to build a Canada-wide early learning and child care system (CWELCC). One of the goals is to help parents of young children participate in the labour market. Data show that the introduction of low-cost universal child care in Quebec increased the employment of mothers with preschool-aged children.

In today's issue, two articles look at the relationship between child care and parents' employment.

Nearly 70% of couple families with young children have two employed parents

The study "Labour market participation of parents with young children" looks at employment patterns of families with young children aged 0 to 5 years before the implementation of the CWELCC. In 2021, 68% of all couple families with young children had two employed parents. The percentage of two-earner couples among families increased to 75% when the youngest child was 6 to 12 years old, but it was lower than that of couples without children (84%). In that year, the employment rate of mothers in one-parent families with young children was 62%.

Quebec had a larger share of two-earner couples, especially both parents working full time, among all families with young children. The province also had a higher employment rate among mothers in one-parent families with young children. Families with Canadian-born mothers (75%) were more likely to have two earners than those with immigrant mothers (57%). A small share of non-working mothers with young children were unemployed or not in the labour force but wanted a job. Findings suggest that the CWELCC may differently influence the employment patterns of parents with different characteristics.

Overall, 90% of mothers returning to work after parental leave returned to the same employer

Whether mothers return to the same employer after childbirth is important in understanding their wages and career trajectories. The article "Employment situations and child care arrangements after mothers' return to work following parental leave" examines whether mothers' employment situations and child care arrangements upon their return to work after a parental leave differed between two cohorts of mothers from 2009 and 2019.

In 2019, among mothers who returned to work within 18 months after the beginning of their leave, 9 in 10 (90.9%) returned or planned to return to the same employer and 80.3% expected their employment situation (hours, schedule or working environment) to be the same as it was before their leave.

While the employment patterns of the mothers did not change from 2009 to 2019, their child care arrangements did. The percentage of mothers who planned to use child care centres increased from 42.3% for the 2009 cohort of mothers to 50.5% for the 2019 cohort of mothers. The percentage increased in both Quebec (from 50.6% to 60.7%) and elsewhere in Canada (from 39.0% to 46.7%). The percentage of mothers who relied on a friend or relative decreased in Quebec (from 19.4% to 12.5%) but increased in the rest of Canada (from 23.4% to 27.8%).

About one-quarter of postsecondary study permit holders did not enrol in publicly funded postsecondary programs

The fast-growing number of international students has generated concerns about their impacts on Canada's educational institutions, labour market and affordable housing. Fully understanding such impacts requires better knowledge of their school enrolment and labour force participation. The article "Characteristics of postsecondary international students who did not enrol in publicly funded postsecondary education programs" sheds light on the activities and sociodemographic characteristics of postsecondary study permit holders who were not enrolled in publicly funded postsecondary education institutions.

Of postsecondary study permit holders in 2019, 24% had not enrolled in publicly funded postsecondary programs. The rate of non-university postsecondary study permit holders that had not enrolled (30%) was higher than that of university study permit holders (12%). Among those not enrolled in publicly funded postsecondary programs, at least 54% engaged in other study or work activities in Canada. Of them, some (at least 22%) studied in school, possibly in private colleges, and some (33%) worked with or without a work permit. Larger shares of international students intended to study in British Columbia (31%), came from India (48%), and were first-time permit holders (42%). When employed, a relatively larger share of them worked in low-paying industries, including wholesale and retail trade (22%) and accommodation and food services (31%).

Most immigrants in the Provincial Nominee Program stay in their intended province or territory in their first year

An objective of the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) is to improve the settlement of economic immigrants in the provinces or territories. The study "The Provincial Nominee Program: Retention in province of landing" found that a high percentage (89%) of economic immigrants that arrived through the PNP in 2019 had stayed in their intended province or territory at the end of their landing year. However, there was large variation by province or territory, ranging from 69% for Prince Edward Island to 97% for Ontario. Among provincial nominees who resided in a province at the end of their landing year, 39% (Prince Edward Island) to 94% (Ontario) remained in that province five years later. Even after accounting for sociodemographic characteristics and provincial unemployment rates, large provincial differences in retention rates remained.

The PNP has become the largest selection program for economic immigrants in recent years. Within provinces and territories, PNP immigrants had similar retention rates both in their first year and fifth year after immigration as immigrants admitted through the Federal Skilled Worker Program and Canadian Experience Class.

Majority of newly landed immigrant couples with children younger than 18 years file T1 income tax returns shortly after landing

Newly landed immigrants in Canada may delay filing taxes as they settle in a new country, but they may be missing out on tax benefits for which they are eligible. The study "Tax-filing rates of newly landed immigrants in Canada: Trends and insights" found that 85% of couples where both spouses were aged 25 to 64 years, who landed from 2017 to 2019 with children younger than 18 years, filed T1 income tax returns in their landing year or the following year.

Among immigration classes, families whose principal applicant was a refugee had the highest filing rates (96%), while those whose principal applicant was a federal skilled worker had the lowest (74%). Families where the principal applicant had no university degree at landing were more likely to file (91%) than those with a graduate degree at landing (79%). International emigration may explain some of these differences but that is difficult to measure with certainty given available data sources.

Products

The November 2023 issue of Economic and Social Reports, Vol. 3, no. 11 (Catalogue number36280001) is now available. This issue contains the articles "Characteristics of postsecondary international students who did not enrol in publicly funded postsecondary education programs," "The Provincial Nominee Program: Retention in province of landing," "Labour market participation of parents with young children," "Tax-filing rates of newly landed immigrants in Canada: Trends and insights," and "Employment situations and child care arrangements after mothers' return to work following parental leave."

Contact information

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