Changes in employment, by selected countries

Canada's employment growth is tops

• Canada ranked best among 10 countries in employment growth from 1996 to 2003, followed closely by the Netherlands. Japan and Germany were the only countries to see declines in employment. In service industries, each of the 10 countries enjoyed higher employment during this period, but the Netherlands, Canada, and Australia enjoyed the strongest growth rates, of between 17% and 18%, while Japan and Germany had the weakest, at 6% each.
• Canada was the only country in which manufacturing jobs made up a growing share of total employment, rising from 14% in 1996 to 15% in 2003. Manufacturing's share of employment fell sharply in the United States (16% to 12%), Japan (23% to 19%), the United Kingdom (19% to 16%) and Sweden (19% to 16%).
• All 10 countries saw employment in primary industries (agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishing) lose share from 1996 to 2003. Italy, which had the largest proportion of employment in these industries, had the largest decrease in share, from 6.4% to 4.9%. In Canada, the share fell from 4.0% to 2.8%, similar to the declines seen in the remaining countries.

Enlarge chart