Employment and labour characteristics of persons with disabilities, 2017 and 2022: Interactive dashboard

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Data

The data used to create this interactive web application is from the following listed data tables:

Labour force status and work potential

Workplace and educational accommodations

Education and income

Employment characteristics and experiences

Additional information

This interactive dashboard presents key employment and labour characteristics of persons with disabilities in Canada. It uses data from the Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD) for the years 2017 and 2022 and features maps, charts, and tables illustrating employment conditions and workplace experiences.

The CSD is a national postcensal survey that collects information on individuals aged 15 years and older whose daily activities are limited by a long-term condition or health-related problem. Participants are drawn from the Census of Population if they reported “sometimes,” “often,” or “always” experiencing difficulty with daily activities. For further details about the survey methodology please visit Canadian Survey on Disability, 2022: Concepts and Methods Guide or the CSD questionnaire.

The CSD identifies persons with disabilities using the Disability Screening Questions (DSQ), based on the social model of disability. The DSQ first measures the degree of difficulty across 10 domains of functioning, then asks how often daily activities are limited by these difficulties. Only persons who report a limitation in day-to-day activities are classified as having a disability.

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 provided. In these cases, individuals in the category “non-binary persons” are distributed into the other two gender categories and are denoted by the “+” symbol.

The survey population comprised Canadians aged 15 years and over living in private dwellings. It excluded those living in institutions and other collective dwellings, on Canadian Armed Force bases, and on First Nations reserves.

Age is calculated as of Census day in the previous year.

"In the labour force" refers to persons who, during the reference week, were either employed or unemployed. "Not in the labour force" refers to persons unwilling or unable to work; that is, they were neither employed nor unemployed.

It is important to note that while the CSD data were collected in 2017 and 2022, the information regarding labour force status is linked from the 2016 and 2021 Census of Population. Income data in this dashboard is also linked from the Census.

"Employed" refers to persons who, during the reference period, did any work for pay or profit. This includes those who had a job but were absent from work for reasons such as own illness or disability, personal or family responsibilities, vacation, or labour dispute. It also includes 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.

"Unemployed" refers to persons who were available for work during the reference week and who had looked for a job in the previous four weeks; were on temporary layoff during the reference period; or had a new job to start within four weeks from the reference week.

"Work potential" refers to those who were officially unemployed, or who were not in the labour force but stated they would be looking for work in the next 12 months or those who were not in the labour force, not completely retired and either not prevented from working due to their condition, or workplace accommodations existed that would enable them to work.

"No work potential" refers to those who were not in the labour force, those who indicated they were completely retired, or who stated their condition completely prevented them from working and that no workplace accommodation existed that would enable them to work.

"The median disability pay ratio in wages, salaries and commissions is the median annual wages, salaries and commissions for persons with disabilities divided by the median annual wages, salaries and commissions" for persons without disabilities. The disability pay ratio can be interpreted as the proportion of a dollar that persons with disabilities earn for every dollar earned by persons without disabilities. Alternatively, the disability pay ratio can be subtracted from one and then multiplied by 100, such that it represents how much less persons with disabilities earn than persons without disabilities in percentage terms.

"Highest certificate, diploma or degree" is the classification used in the census to measure the broader concept of educational attainment. This variable refers to the highest level of education that a person has successfully completed and is derived from the educational qualification questions, which are asked for all certificates, diplomas and degrees to be reported. Users are advised to consult data quality comments for Highest certificate, diploma or degree, which are available in the Education Reference Guide, Census of Population, 2021.

"Full-time employment" refers to persons who are employed more than 30 hours per week. Part-time employment refers to persons who are employed less than 30 hours per week. Self-employed persons includes those working in a family business without pay.

"Qualification for current job" represents the self-perceived qualification level of the respondents. Includes current employees at a job or business (not self-employed) who were interviewed by non-proxy.

For more information and definitions, refer to the statistical program for Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD).

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