StatCan COVID-19: Data to Insights for a Better CanadaRunning the economy remotely: Potential for working from home during and after COVID-19
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Physical distancing measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 have resulted in a large number of Canadians working from home, many for the first time.Note This sudden transition in how the economy is operating raises questions about how many jobs can reasonably be performed from home. While working from home is a temporary response to the pandemic for many people, for others this transition might serve as the catalyst for a new way of doing business for years to come.
To provide new insights into this important issue, this article estimates the number of jobs in Canada that can plausibly be performed from home under normal circumstances—the “telework capacity” of the economy—and compares that estimate with actual telework activity reported early into the pandemic.Note Then, it considers which types of jobs can be done from home, where they are located and who holds them.
Overall, approximately four in ten (38.9%) Canadian workers are in jobs that can plausibly be carried out from home (Chart 1).Note By comparison, Statistics Canada’s March 2020 Perspectives Survey Series found that as many workers (39.1%) were teleworking during the last full week of March (Statistics Canada 2020). Taken together, these findings suggest the Canadian labour market responded very quickly to the onset of the pandemic by increasing its prevalence of telework to the maximum capacity.
Data table for Chart 1
By province | Telework capacity |
---|---|
percent | |
Full labour force | 38.9 |
Ontario | 41.7 |
Quebec | 38.8 |
British Columbia | 38.6 |
New Brunswick | 36.3 |
Alberta | 36.0 |
Manitoba | 34.3 |
Nova Scotia | 33.8 |
Saskatchewan | 33.2 |
Prince Edward Island | 31.3 |
Newfoundland and Labrador | 31.3 |
By industry | |
Finance, insurance | 85.3 |
Educational services | 84.6 |
Professional, scientific and technical services | 83.9 |
Information, cultural industries | 68.5 |
Public administration | 58.2 |
Wholesale trade | 57.3 |
Real estate, rental and leasing | 47.8 |
Arts, entertainment, recreation | 40.1 |
Utilities | 38.6 |
Administrative and support, waste management, remediation | 35.1 |
Other services (except public administration) | 31.4 |
Health care, social assistance | 28.8 |
Transportation, warehousing | 24.5 |
Mining, quarrying, oil and gas extraction | 23.9 |
Retail trade | 22.0 |
Manufacturing | 19.1 |
Construction | 11.1 |
Accommodation, food services | 5.6 |
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting | 3.9 |
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, 2019 and O*Net. |
Telework capacity varies substantially across industries (Chart 1). Most jobs in finance and insurance (85%), educational services (85%), and professional, scientific and technical services (84%) can potentially be performed from home while those in accommodation and food services (6%) and agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (4%) have almost no telework capacity.Note
Telework capacity also varies across provinces (Chart 1). This is important since measures to re-open the economy are province-specific. Three of the six provinces with low telework capacity have relatively large shares of workers in mining, oil and gas extraction (i.e., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador). The inability to work from home in the agricultural industry may help explain the low telework capacities in the Prairies and possibly Prince Edward Island.
Financially vulnerable workers appear to have the lowest telework capacities, including those who are under the age of 25 (21%) and who have a high school diploma (25%) or less than a high school diploma (13%) (Table 1). Since these characteristics are often associated with minimum-wage and low-income workers, the pandemic might be reducing workhours to a greater extent among them than among other workers.Note
Both sexes | Female | Male | |
---|---|---|---|
telework capacity (percent) | |||
Full labour force | 38.9 | 46.4 | 32.1 |
Age group | |||
Less than 25 | 20.5 | 23.5 | 17.5 |
25 to 34 | 40.7 | 48.4 | 33.5 |
35 to 44 | 44.2 | 52.7 | 36.4 |
45 to 54 | 42.9 | 50.5 | 35.8 |
55 to 64 | 38.5 | 48.5 | 29.8 |
65 and over | 39.6 | 46.3 | 35.2 |
Education | |||
Less than high school | 12.7 | 16.8 | 10.3 |
High school diploma | 25.0 | 34.5 | 18.0 |
Some postsecondary | 28.1 | 34.3 | 22.2 |
Trades certificate or diploma | 19.5 | 34.7 | 12.8 |
College diploma | 39.7 | 46.5 | 31.6 |
University certificate below Bachelor's | 47.0 | 51.3 | 41.7 |
Bachelor's degree or higher | 60.0 | 60.7 | 59.2 |
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, 2019 and O*Net. |
Conclusion
About four in ten Canadian workers are in jobs that can plausibly be done at home. In contrast, the percentage of employees usually doing any scheduled hours from home changed very little from 2000 to 2018: it varied from 10% to 11% from 2000 to 2008 (Turcotte 2010) and stood at about 13% in 2018 (Statistics Canada 2018). These findings suggest that there was unused capacity in the economy for telework before the pandemic began.
It should be emphasized that the numbers presented in this study do not fully capture the degree to which workers can participate in the economy during the pandemic. Many workers who need to work outside home either provide essential services or hold jobs that can be performed with proper physical distancing measures.
An important question is the extent to which telework arrangements will persist as the new norm in some sectors when the economy is fully reopened. An increase in telework is likely to have far-reaching social and economic implications, including reduced traffic congestion and air pollution and perhaps, increases in online learning in colleges and universities. Whether the growth in telework will improve workers’ mental health, their work-life balance and productivity remains to be seen.
References
Dingel, J.I., and B. Neiman. 2020. How many jobs can be done at home? NBER Working Paper, no. 26948. Cambridge: National Bureau of Economic Research.
Statistics Canada. 2018. General Social Survey, 2016. Ottawa: Statistics Canada.
Statistics Canada. 2020. “Canadian Perspectives Survey Series 1: Impacts of COVID-19 on job security and personal finances, 2020.” The Daily. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 11-001-X. Ottawa: Statistics Canada.
Turcotte, M. 2010. “Working at Home: An Update.” Canadian Social Trends. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 11-008-X. Ottawa: Statistics Canada.
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