Temporary employment in Canada, 2018
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Release date: May 14, 2019
Description: Temporary employment in Canada, 2018
Temporary employment in Canada, 2018
More than half of temporary employees had a term or contract job
| 1998 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|
| Seasonal job | 24% | 20% |
| Term or contract job | 46% | 53% |
| Casual job | 27% | 26% |
| Note: Proportions will not sum to 100 because the "other temporary job" category is not presented. | ||
In three industries, over one-quarter of employees were temporary
| Proportion of temporary employees | Men | Women | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | 27% | 60% | 40% |
| Information, culture and recreation | 26% | 50% | 50% |
| Educational services | 26% | 32% | 68% |
| Business, building and other support services | 21% | 61% | 39% |
| Accommodation and food services | 17% | 43% | 57% |
| Construction | 16% | 92% | 8% |
| Public administration | 13% | 44% | 56% |
| Health care and social assistance | 13% | 18% | 82% |
| Natural resources | 13% | 83% | 17% |
| Other services (except public administration) | 11% | 38% | 61% |
- More than 1 in 8 employees (13.3% or 2.1 million) worked in a temporary job.
- Among temporary employees, women (10%) were more likely to have more than one job than men (6%).
- Temporary employees earned $21.80 per hour on average, while permanent employees made $27.71 an hour.
- About 6 out of 10 temporary employees worked full time, compared with close to 9 in 10 permanent employees.
In 2018, Newfoundland and Labrador had the highest proportion of temporary employees
| 2018 (proportion of temporary employees) | 20-year change in the proportion of temporary employees, percentage points | |
|---|---|---|
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 23% | -1.6 |
| Prince Edward Island | 21% | -6.2 |
| Nova Scotia | 16% | -1.1 |
| New Brunswick | 17% | -1.7 |
| Quebec | 13% | -0.1 |
| Ontario | 13% | 3.1 |
| Manitoba | 12% | 0.1 |
| Saskatchewan | 13% | -0.7 |
| Alberta | 13% | 2.0 |
| British Columbia | 13% | 2.4 |
From 1998 to 2018, the proportion of temporary employees rose by 1.5 percentage points in Canada.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, tables 14-10-0072-01, 14-10-0066-01 and custom tabulations.
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