Labour market outcomes of the Black populations in Canada, 2020 to 2025

This project was made possible by funding from the Government of Canada's Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative led by Employment and Social Development Canada.

This analysis builds on the analytical portrait of Black populations published in October 2024, The Diversity of the Black Populations in Canada, 2021: A Sociodemographic Portrait. It is informed by previous studies on Black populations such as Changes in the socioeconomic situation of Canada's Black population, 2001 to 2016, and Education and earnings of Canadian-born Black populations.

The analysis uses data from the 2021 Census of Population to study the labour market outcomes of several Black populations of core working age in the labour market. Data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) are also used to understand recent trends in the Canadian labour force. For compatibility of the LFS and census data, please consult Dictionary, Census of Population, 2021 - Appendix 2.11 Comparability of labour force status data from the 2021 Census of Population (long-form questionnaire) and the Labour Force Survey.

The analysis considers the largest Black populations in the Canadian labour force identified at the intersection of place of birth, immigration status and generation status:

- Black immigrants born in the Caribbean;

- Black immigrants born in Africa;

- Black immigrants born in the rest of the world;

- Black persons of the second generation born in Canada;

- Black persons of the third generation-or-more born in Canada;

- Black non-permanent residents (NPRs).

Data for the smallest group, Black Canadian citizens by birth who were born outside Canada, are not presented separately but are included in the total counts of the Black populations. This group made up 0.8% of the total Black populations in the labour market in 2021.

Data are also disaggregated by gender, with results presented for women and men.

The study examines socio-demographic characteristics and outcomes of the Black populations of core working age in the labour force, which refers to adults aged 25 to 54 years who were employed or unemployed during the 2021 Census of Population reference week, from Sunday, May 2, to Saturday, May 8, 2021. The labour market outcomes studied are participation rates, employment rates, unemployment rates, median annual employment income and overqualification rates.

It is important to mention that the labour market outcomes covered in the study refer to the period of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020 to 2021), when many people suffered from deteriorating health, unemployment, loss of jobs and income. The racialized populations, including Black people, were more affected by the pandemic disruptions in the economy, healthcare and social security networks, which also influenced their labour market outcomes. While being mindful of this context, this study focuses on comparison of the outcomes for different Black populations, assuming that they were affected by the pandemic in equal measure.

Definitions

Black populations: since 1996, Statistics Canada has used the population group question in the census to measure the racialized populations through the visible minority concept in accordance with the Employment Equity Act. This release uses the category of "Black" in the visible minority variable to establish the counts of the Black populations in Canada and to conduct analysis. The "Black" category includes people who reported being "Black" or "Black" and "White." For more information about the derivation of the "Black" and other racialized populations categories, please consult the Visible Minority and Population Group Reference Guide, Census of Population, 2021.

Canadian-born Black populations: refers to Black people born in Canada. They are also Canadian citizens by birth.

Core working age: defined as individuals aged 25 to 54 years. While the broader working-age population includes persons aged 15 years and older, the core working-age group concentrates on those with the highest levels of labour force participation and attachment.

Employed persons: refers to those who, during the reference period, had a labour force status of "employed." That is, those who, during the reference period:

a) Did any work at all at a job or business, that is, paid work in the context of an employer-employee relationship or self-employment. This also includes persons who did unpaid family work, which is defined as unpaid work contributing directly to the operation of a farm, business or professional practice owned and operated by a related member of the same household; or

b) Had a job but were not at work due to factors such as their own illness or disability, personal or family responsibilities, vacation or a labour dispute. This category excludes persons not at work because they were on layoff or between casual jobs, and those who did not then have a job (even if they had a job to start at a future date).

Employment income: includes total annual income of the person received as wages, salaries and commissions from paid employment, as net self-employment income from farm or non-farm unincorporated business, and/or from professional practice during the reference period. For the 2021 Census, the reference period for income data is the calendar year 2020.

The median employment income of a specified group is the amount that divides the employment income distribution of that group into two halves, i.e., the employment incomes of half of the persons in that group are below the median, while those of the other half are above the median. This analysis presents the annual median employment income only for people who were employed during the reference week.

The employment income for NPRs must be treated with caution, as some NPRs may not have been in Canada in 2020 or not yet reported their employment income for that year, thus underestimating the median income statistics for the group.

Employment rate: refers to the number of persons employed in the reference week, expressed as a percentage of the total population aged 15 years and older. The employment rate for a particular group (by age, gender, marital status, geographic area, etc.) is the number of employed persons in that group, expressed as a percentage of the total population in that group.

Generation status: a person's generation status refers to whether the person or the person's parents were born in Canada.

• The term "first generation" includes people who were born outside Canada. These are mostly people who are now, or once were, immigrants to Canada.

• The term "second generation" includes people who were born in Canada and had at least one parent born outside Canada. For the most part, these are the children of immigrants.

• The term "third generation or more" includes people who were born in Canada and whose parents were also born in Canada.

Gender: refers to an individual's personal and social identity as a man, woman or non-binary person (a person who is not exclusively a man or a woman) and includes the following concepts:

• "gender identity" refers to the gender that a person feels internally and individually;

• "gender expression" refers to the way a person presents their gender, regardless of their gender identity, through body language, aesthetic choices or accessories (e.g., clothes, hairstyle and makeup) that may have traditionally been associated with a specific gender.

A person's gender may differ from their sex at birth, and from what is indicated on their current identification or legal documents such as their birth certificate, passport or driver's license. A person's gender may change over time. Some people may not identify with a specific gender.

Given that the non-binary population is small, data aggregation to a two-category gender variable is sometimes necessary to protect the confidentiality of responses. In these cases, individuals in the category "non-binary persons" are distributed into the other two gender categories. The resulting category "women+" includes women, girls as well as some non-binary persons, and the category "men+" includes men, boys as well as some non-binary persons. In the text, the terms "men" and "women" are used to describe the categories "men+" and "women+."

Immigrant: a person who is, or has been, a landed immigrant or permanent resident. Such a person has been granted the right to live in Canada permanently by immigration authorities. Immigrants who have obtained Canadian citizenship by naturalization are included in this group.

Immigrant status: refers to whether the person is a non-immigrant, an immigrant or an NPR.

Labour force: persons who were either employed or unemployed during the reference week.

Non-permanent resident: a person from another country with a usual place of residence in Canada who has a work or study permit or who has claimed refugee status (asylum claimant). Family members living with work or study permit holders are also included unless these family members are already Canadian citizens or landed immigrants or permanent residents.

In this release, asylum claimants also include protected persons and related groups. Asylum claimant refers to a foreign national who has made a refugee claim while in Canada on a temporary basis and whose claim is pending decision. Protected person refers to a person who has made a claim in Canada and received a positive decision. Related groups include those who received a negative decision or withdrew or abandoned their claim and have not yet regularized their status or departed Canada.

Overqualification rate: the proportion of persons aged 15 years and older with a bachelor's degree or higher who, during the census year or the year prior to the census, held a position typically requiring no more than a high school diploma or equivalency certificate.

The reference period for overqualification data is the census year or the calendar year prior to the census year. Overqualification rates exclude populations who did not work during the reference period, immigrants who first obtained landed immigrant or permanent resident status during the reference period, and immigrants or NPRs who reported that their last job (occupied during the reference period) was held outside Canada.

This analysis presents overqualification rates only for persons who were employed during the reference week.

Participation rate: refers to the labour force during the reference week, expressed as a percentage of the total population aged 15 years and older. The participation rate for a particular group (by age, gender, marital status, geographic area, etc.) is the total labour force in that group, expressed as a percentage of the total population in that group.

Place of birth: refers to the name of the geographic location where the person was born. The geographic location is specified according to geographic boundaries current at the time of data collection, not the geographic boundaries at the time of birth. In the 2021 Census, the geographic location refers to the name of the province, territory or country in which the person was born. It refers to a province or territory if the person was born in Canada, or to a country or area of interest if the person was born outside Canada. In this analysis, place of birth has four categories: 1) born in Canada; 2) born in the Caribbean; 3) born in Africa; 4) born in the rest of the world (countries or regions outside Canada, the Caribbean and Africa).

Racialized populations: this concept has been measured by the "visible minority" variable since the 1996 Census to implement the Employment Equity Act. The term "visible minority" refers to whether a person belongs to one of the visible minority groups defined by the Act. The categories that constitute racialized populations are: "South Asian," "Chinese," "Black," "Filipino," "Latin American," "Arab," "Southeast Asian," "West Asian," "Korean," "Japanese," "Multiple visible minorities" and "Visible minority, not included elsewhere."

Unemployment rate: refers to the proportion of the unemployed expressed as a percentage of the labour force during the reference week. The unemployment rate for a particular group (by age, gender, marital status, geographic area, etc.) is the proportion of the unemployed in that group, expressed as a percentage of the labour force in that group.

Unemployed persons: refers to persons who, during the reference week, were without paid work or without self-employment work, were available for work and either:

a) had actively looked for paid work in the past four weeks;

b) were on temporary layoff and expected to return to their job; or

c) had definite arrangements to start a new job in four weeks or less.