Economic and Social Reports

Spotlight on data and research

Most prevalent jobs of young college and CEGEP certificate and diploma graduates by detailed field of study

While the earnings of postsecondary graduates are well documented, little is known about the specific jobs these graduates typically have. This article found that graduates of many college and CEGEP health programs landed jobs closely related to their field. For example, 92.1% of women and 86.8% of men who graduated from diagnostic medical sonography/sonographer and ultrasound technician programs were working as medical sonographers. Similar examples exist for many other health programs, as well as for a few non-health programs.

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Understanding Canada’s innovation paradox: Exploring linkages between innovation, technology adoption and productivity

Despite substantial investments in innovation and technology in the Canadian economy, labour productivity growth has slowed and, since the COVID-19 pandemic, has been trending downward. This aligns with what’s called an innovation paradox. This article and accompanying presentation “Research to Insights: Challenges and Opportunities in Innovation, Technology Adoption and Productivity” explore links between innovation, technology adoption and productivity.

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Research articles

To what extent do newcomers receive the Canada child benefit? Insights from newly landed immigrants with employment income in Canada

Among newly landed permanent resident (PR) couples with children younger than 18, those with employment income in the year after arrival are more likely than those without employment income to receive the Canada child benefit (CCB). This study found that around 90% of PR couples who had employment income in the year after arrival received the CCB that year. This compares with rates of about 70% or lower for other PR couples.

The study looked at immigrant couples who landed in Canada from 2016 to 2019. The relatively lower CCB take-up rate among newly landed PR couples without employment income in the year after arrival could be because they were less likely to file T1 income tax forms—a requirement for accessing the CCB—than their counterparts with employment income. The difference in take-up rates could also be due to the fact that the latter group is more likely to reside in Canada shortly after landing and therefore more likely to satisfy the residency criterion for accessing the CCB.

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Women in the environmental and clean technology sector

The Environmental and Clean Technology (ECT) sector in Canada plays a significant role in the nation's economy and efforts to combat climate change. Although the share of women working in the ECT sector has been increasing since 2014, women only represented 28.6% of the ECT workforce in 2021. This study found that even though women in the ECT sector were more likely than men to hold a college diploma or a university degree or higher, they earned roughly 16.3% less than their male counterparts in 2021.

The paper reveals additional layers of disparity among women with Indigenous, racialized, and immigrant identities. In 2021, women held 24.6% of ECT jobs among Indigenous peoples, 31.5% among racialized people and 32.0% among immigrants. Furthermore, women in the ECT sector faced a gender compensation gap of 14.1% among Indigenous peoples, 13.8% among racialized people and 16.8% among immigrants. However, immigrant women’s average hourly compensation was similar to the average hourly compensation of non-immigrant women.

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