Improvements to the Labour Force Survey (LFS)
The 2023 Revisions of the Labour Force Survey (LFS)

1.0 Introduction

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) provides estimates of employment and unemployment, which are among the most timely and important measures of the performance of the Canadian economy. With the release of the survey results only 10 days after the completion of data collection, the LFS estimates are the first of Statistics Canada’s major monthly economic data series to be released.

Periodically, LFS data are revised, either to adopt the most recent geography, industry and occupation classifications; to take advantage of recent observations to fine-tune seasonal adjustment factors; or to introduce methodological enhancements. These revisions ensure that survey estimates accurately reflect the Canadian labour market, while having minimal impact on the comparability of labour market indicators, such as employment, unemployment, and participation rates over time.

The purpose of this publication is to document three aspects of a historical revision of LFS data to be published in January 2023, including:

• Transition to National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 V1.0: The full LFS historical series was revised back to its starting point in 1987. Differences in the structure of the classification impact all LFS data by occupation. As such, new data tables have been released to align with the NOC 2021 classification (see Section 2.0 for more details).
• Methodological enhancements to data processing and imputation: The methodology for detecting outliers and selecting donor records were enhanced. These changes were implemented historically, starting with January 2006 (see Section 3.0 for more details).
• Historical revision of seasonal adjustment factors: As is the standard practice, seasonally adjusted Labour Force Survey estimates for previous years have been revised using the latest seasonal factors. To account for updates in the data arising from the transition to the NOC 2021 classification and enhancements to data processing and imputation, revised seasonal adjustment factors have been applied over a longer time span, back to January 2002 (see Section 4.0 for more details).

2.0 Transition to National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021

LFS historical series, starting in 1987, have been revised to the National Occupation Classification (NOC) 2021 V1.0. LFS was previously using occupational classification NOC 2016 V1.3.

Differences between the two classifications are extensive; for more information refer to the summary of changes from NOC 2016 Version 1.3 to NOC 2021 Version 1.0.

All LFS data tables for occupation have been revised back to the beginning of the series to reflect the NOC 2021 classification. A concordance table for the new and old tables published on the website is available in Appendix B.

2.1 NOC 2021 labour force variant

LFS microdata is coded to NOC 2021 at the 5-digit, unit group level and aggregated for dissemination. Due to LFS sample size limitations and structural differences for managers and professional occupations between the NOC 2016 and 2021 classifications, a variant of the NOC 2021 classification (Appendix A) has been developed. The variant groups occupations with similar characteristics (e.g., wages, tenure and hours worked) to manage LFS sample size limitations while disseminating as many detailed occupations as possible in LFS public tables and public use microdata files (PUMF).

The labour force variant regroups select NOC categories while maintaining all other aspects of the standard classification.

The NOC 2021 labour force variant has three main differences compared with the NOC 2021 standard:

1. Middle management occupations from each broad occupational category are grouped with broad category NOC 0 – Legislative and senior management occupations as Management occupations in high-level occupational estimates, equivalent to training education, experience and responsibility (TEER) group 0.
2. Professional occupations are disseminated at the 3-digit, sub-major level for occupations available at the 2-digit level in the NOC 2016 classification.
3. Select 2-digit, major group categories with small sample sizes and similar characteristics are grouped for dissemination.

2.2 Impact on high-level occupational estimates

In 2022, the largest impacts on employment estimates by occupation were observed for trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations (+222,000; +8.2%); business, finance and administration occupations (-93,000; -2.8%); natural and applied sciences and related occupations (-71,000; -3.9%) and sales and service occupations (+59,000; +1.4%).

These differences were largely due to the following structural changes between NOC 2021 and NOC 2016:  

• Supervisors, mail and message distribution occupations moved from business, finance and administration occupations (NOC 2016 code 1214) to trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations (NOC 2021 code 72025).
• Mail and message distribution occupations moved from business, finance and administration occupations (NOC 2016 code 151) to trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations (NOC 2021 codes 741 – Mail and message distribution occupations and 75201 – Delivery service drivers and door-to-door distributors) and sales and service occupations (NOC 2021 code 64401 – Postal services representatives).
• Transportation officers and controllers moved from natural and applied sciences and related occupations (NOC 2016 code 227) to trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations (NOC 2021 code 726).

Data table for Chart 1-A



Data table for Chart 1-A
Table summary
This table displays the results of Data table for Chart 1-A Revised - NOC 2021 and Unrevised - NOC 2016, calculated using thousands units of measure (appearing as column headers).

	Revised - NOC 2021	Unrevised - NOC 2016
	thousands
Management occupations	1,833.4	1,867.2
Business, finance and administration occupations, except management	3,180.1	3,272.7
Natural and applied sciences and related occupations, except management	1,767.3	1,838.6
Health occupations, except management	1,569.4	1,549.1
Occupations in education, law and social, community and government services, except management	2,287.9	2,304.2
Occupations in art, culture, recreation and sport, except management	569.3	575.6
Sales and service occupations, except management	4,323.7	4,264.5
Trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations, except management	2,930.0	2,707.7
Natural resources, agriculture and related production occupations, except management	379.9	374.3
Occupations in manufacturing and utilities, except management	852.0	812.6
Notes: The revised estimates are calculated using revised data and the NOC 2021 Labour variant. The unrevised estimates are calculated using unrevised data and the NOC 2016 classification standard. Differences between the estimates arise from changes to the classification standard as well as LFS data processing enhancements. Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey (3701).

3.0 Methodological enhancements to LFS data processing

Following data collection, LFS data are subjected to edit and imputation processes to correct any inconsistent or invalid responses. Enhancements to these processes have been implemented to take full advantage of the processing power available as a result of processing and computer systems changes introduced in January 2019 and to ensure that, consistent with statistical best practice, as much valid respondent data as possible is retained. These changes were implemented historically, starting with January 2006.

3.1 Enhancements to imputation

Imputation is a standard method used by surveys to replace missing data values. Whole record imputation is used when all questionnaire data for a person in a sampled household are missing, while item imputation is used when some, but not all, data are missing. In both cases, the LFS uses donor imputation, where responses from a donor record with similar characteristics are used to replace missing values.

While the overall LFS imputation strategy was not changed, the parameters used, including the list of variables used to create the imputation groups for the donor imputation, have been updated. As a result, the revised imputation system is more efficient at finding appropriate donors, preserving more respondent data and resorting less often to whole record imputation. This results in more efficient imputation for respondents with lower-prevalence characteristics, such as part-time employment and those on temporary layoff.

3.2 Enhancements to outlier detection of wages

Outlier detection is the method used to identify extreme values in data which appear to be inconsistent with the remainder of the dataset, and where respondent data should be replaced using imputation. The LFS uses outlier detection to identify extremely high or low values for wages for employees. As part of the historical revision, the process used for outlier detection of wages was updated to be more responsive to wage growth over time.

The enhancements to outlier detection led to a level shift in LFS wage estimates, phased in over the six months from January to June 2006. Users should use caution when comparing LFS wage estimates for the period immediately before and after January 2006.

Revised average hourly wages were 2.6% higher than unrevised wages over the full revision period from January 2006 to December 2022 (Chart 2-A). More recent average wages were less impacted by the revision, due to changes in the LFS processing system introduced in January 2019. From 2006 to 2018, revised wages were 2.9% higher on average, peaking at 3.5% higher in October 2011. From 2019 to 2022, revised average hourly wages were 2.0% higher than unrevised average hourly wages.

After the initial upward revision to wage estimates in 2006, trends in year-over-year wage growth among employees were equivalent on average in the revised and unrevised wage series (Chart 2-B). The 2023 revision to wages also reduced the impact of the data processing changes introduced in January 2019 on wage growth, leading to a more consistent wage series over the revision period. In December 2022, revised average hourly wages grew 4.8% (+$1.49 to $32.67) year-over-year, slightly less than the unrevised year-over-year increase of 5.1% (+$1.57 to $32.06).

As medians are less impacted by outliers in general, revised median hourly wages were 1.2% higher than the unrevised median hourly wages over the full revision period from 2006 to 2022: +1.5% on average over the period from 2006 to 2018 and +0.3% on average over the period from 2019 to 2022 (Chart 2-A).

Data table for Chart 2-A



Data table for Chart 2-A
Table summary
This table displays the results of Data table for Chart 2-A Revised average hourly wage rate, Unrevised average hourly wage rate, Revised median hourly wage rate and Unrevised median hourly wage rate, calculated using current dollars ($) units of measure (appearing as column headers).

	Revised average hourly wage rate	Unrevised average hourly wage rate	Revised median hourly wage rate	Unrevised median hourly wage rate
	current dollars ($)
2005
January	19.02	19.02	17.00	17.00
February	18.98	18.98	17.00	17.00
March	19.05	19.05	17.00	17.00
April	19.09	19.09	17.00	17.00
May	18.87	18.87	16.83	16.83
June	18.89	18.89	16.83	16.83
July	18.76	18.76	16.48	16.48
August	18.88	18.88	16.60	16.60
September	19.30	19.30	17.00	17.00
October	19.33	19.33	17.00	17.00
November	19.45	19.45	17.03	17.03
December	19.45	19.45	17.00	17.00
2006
January	19.81	19.64	17.32	17.32
February	19.88	19.60	17.39	17.31
March	20.05	19.69	17.50	17.35
April	20.15	19.67	17.58	17.44
May	19.99	19.56	17.37	17.10
June	19.94	19.53	17.31	17.00
July	19.89	19.45	17.22	17.00
August	20.07	19.56	17.31	17.00
September	20.42	19.87	17.80	17.50
October	20.55	19.90	17.79	17.48
November	20.61	20.01	17.95	17.65
December	20.55	19.93	17.95	17.50
2007
January	20.70	20.07	18.00	17.71
February	20.70	20.11	18.00	17.79
March	20.75	20.10	18.00	17.75
April	20.81	20.23	18.00	18.00
May	20.80	20.17	18.00	17.82
June	20.80	20.23	18.00	17.82
July	20.75	20.17	18.00	17.63
August	20.93	20.33	18.00	18.00
September	21.38	20.69	18.50	18.13
October	21.40	20.72	18.51	18.14
November	21.43	20.83	18.60	18.27
December	21.40	20.91	18.50	18.32
2008
January	21.58	21.00	18.83	18.47
February	21.60	21.06	18.80	18.50
March	21.56	21.02	18.75	18.50
April	21.69	21.10	18.96	18.50
May	21.70	21.13	18.75	18.46
June	21.68	21.05	18.75	18.33
July	21.55	20.91	18.50	18.15
August	21.64	21.12	18.75	18.50
September	22.19	21.58	19.23	19.00
October	22.22	21.59	19.23	19.00
November	22.38	21.78	19.23	19.20
December	22.44	21.79	19.38	19.23
2009
January	22.67	22.04	19.79	19.37
February	22.50	21.86	19.71	19.23
March	22.59	21.92	19.78	19.23
April	22.61	21.95	19.83	19.23
May	22.46	21.80	19.49	19.00
June	22.37	21.78	19.30	19.20
July	22.25	21.65	19.23	19.00
August	22.38	21.72	19.23	19.00
September	22.89	22.17	20.00	19.57
October	22.99	22.30	20.00	19.50
November	22.88	22.22	20.00	19.50
December	22.99	22.31	20.00	19.75
2010
January	23.16	22.46	20.00	20.00
February	23.12	22.39	20.00	19.84
March	23.16	22.39	20.00	19.78
April	23.12	22.40	20.00	19.78
May	22.97	22.33	20.00	19.54
June	22.88	22.19	20.00	19.28
July	22.73	22.03	19.76	19.23
August	22.77	22.18	20.00	19.25
September	23.23	22.64	20.00	20.00
October	23.24	22.64	20.00	20.00
November	23.41	22.74	20.00	20.00
December	23.36	22.76	20.00	20.00
2011
January	23.58	22.90	20.00	20.00
February	23.60	22.92	20.00	20.00
March	23.68	22.91	20.00	20.00
April	23.66	22.92	20.00	20.00
May	23.47	22.76	20.00	20.00
June	23.37	22.62	20.00	19.78
July	23.17	22.44	20.00	19.50
August	23.31	22.55	20.00	19.70
September	23.71	22.96	20.00	20.00
October	23.80	23.00	20.19	20.00
November	23.91	23.22	20.41	20.00
December	23.95	23.26	20.50	20.00
2012
January	24.10	23.44	20.67	20.11
February	24.08	23.45	20.75	20.19
March	24.13	23.53	20.57	20.19
April	24.15	23.51	20.53	20.19
May	24.09	23.36	20.24	20.00
June	24.09	23.37	20.33	20.00
July	23.93	23.27	20.00	20.00
August	24.13	23.34	20.19	20.00
September	24.48	23.70	21.00	20.33
October	24.54	23.81	21.00	20.65
November	24.50	23.79	21.00	20.67
December	24.50	23.84	21.00	20.85
2013
January	24.65	23.95	21.00	21.00
February	24.66	23.96	21.00	20.96
March	24.79	24.05	21.00	20.98
April	24.91	24.13	21.07	20.96
May	24.69	23.98	21.00	20.60
June	24.50	23.92	20.92	20.40
July	24.40	23.63	20.48	20.00
August	24.46	23.79	20.67	20.19
September	24.88	24.24	21.05	21.00
October	24.94	24.33	21.15	21.00
November	25.08	24.40	21.25	21.00
December	25.06	24.40	21.30	21.00
2014
January	25.12	24.49	21.54	21.09
February	25.14	24.52	21.63	21.03
March	25.19	24.55	21.63	21.09
April	25.20	24.58	21.63	21.37
May	24.99	24.30	21.43	21.00
June	24.97	24.31	21.03	21.00
July	24.79	24.15	21.00	20.98
August	24.93	24.26	21.00	20.96
September	25.47	24.69	22.00	21.50
October	25.41	24.60	21.80	21.25
November	25.47	24.66	22.00	21.54
December	25.49	24.80	21.98	21.63
2015
January	25.65	24.91	22.00	21.68
February	25.63	24.92	22.00	21.63
March	25.66	25.00	22.00	21.77
April	25.83	25.14	22.00	21.88
May	25.69	25.05	22.00	21.63
June	25.73	25.04	22.00	21.75
July	25.70	24.98	21.95	21.63
August	25.73	25.08	22.00	21.63
September	26.14	25.43	22.44	22.00
October	26.21	25.36	22.49	22.00
November	26.29	25.49	22.64	22.00
December	26.26	25.52	22.56	22.00
2016
January	26.41	25.62	22.75	22.12
February	26.45	25.73	22.73	22.10
March	26.52	25.78	22.84	22.12
April	26.55	25.86	23.00	22.45
May	26.22	25.53	22.00	22.00
June	26.14	25.51	22.00	22.00
July	26.08	25.42	22.00	21.77
August	26.13	25.43	22.00	21.87
September	26.53	25.77	22.50	22.00
October	26.59	25.79	22.53	22.10
November	26.65	25.86	22.83	22.44
December	26.62	25.92	22.89	22.50
2017
January	26.68	25.90	23.00	22.57
February	26.77	26.04	23.00	22.56
March	26.82	26.04	23.00	22.64
April	26.77	26.01	23.00	22.50
May	26.57	25.80	22.61	22.02
June	26.56	25.81	22.80	22.00
July	26.49	25.71	22.12	22.00
August	26.66	25.84	22.50	22.00
September	27.05	26.30	23.00	23.00
October	27.08	26.39	23.00	23.00
November	27.16	26.55	23.00	23.00
December	27.24	26.61	23.08	23.00
2018
January	27.50	26.75	23.56	23.08
February	27.56	26.84	23.50	23.08
March	27.57	26.86	23.50	23.00
April	27.59	26.92	23.50	23.08
May	27.48	26.81	23.08	23.00
June	27.41	26.72	23.08	23.00
July	27.25	26.50	23.00	22.70
August	27.25	26.55	23.00	23.00
September	27.70	26.89	23.59	23.08
October	27.80	26.94	23.81	23.08
November	27.84	26.97	23.75	23.08
December	27.91	27.10	24.00	23.47
2019
January	28.14	27.26	24.00	23.50
February	28.17	27.44	24.00	24.00
March	28.14	27.52	24.00	24.00
April	28.19	27.60	24.01	24.00
May	28.12	27.57	24.00	24.00
June	28.26	27.74	24.04	24.00
July	28.13	27.71	24.00	24.00
August	28.09	27.57	24.00	24.00
September	28.62	28.06	24.62	24.50
October	28.65	28.14	24.71	24.52
November	28.65	28.22	24.65	24.73
December	28.63	28.14	24.52	24.50
2020
January	28.94	28.46	25.00	25.00
February	29.09	28.59	25.00	25.00
March	29.88	29.27	25.05	25.00
April	31.14	30.62	27.00	26.92
May	30.97	30.44	26.78	26.67
June	30.29	29.73	26.00	25.96
July	29.96	29.45	25.36	25.27
August	29.87	29.34	25.15	25.01
September	30.05	29.59	25.64	25.64
October	30.26	29.66	25.77	25.64
November	30.12	29.60	25.64	25.64
December	30.18	29.69	26.00	26.00
2021
January	30.75	30.23	26.44	26.44
February	30.63	29.97	26.06	26.00
March	30.46	29.89	26.00	26.00
April	30.72	30.07	26.16	26.00
May	30.52	29.94	26.00	25.96
June	30.29	29.70	25.81	25.50
July	30.33	29.59	25.55	25.00
August	30.43	29.73	25.50	25.21
September	30.87	30.10	26.15	26.00
October	30.87	30.26	26.25	26.00
November	30.93	30.40	26.06	26.04
December	31.18	30.49	26.44	26.07
2022
January	31.59	30.95	27.00	26.98
February	31.47	30.89	26.89	26.67
March	31.44	30.92	26.92	26.75
April	31.72	31.06	27.00	26.92
May	31.64	31.12	26.92	26.92
June	31.80	31.24	27.00	27.00
July	31.65	31.14	26.92	26.90
August	31.91	31.33	27.00	27.00
September	32.38	31.67	27.59	27.50
October	32.52	31.94	27.88	27.88
November	32.71	32.11	28.00	28.00
December	32.67	32.06	28.00	28.00
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey (3701).

Data table for Chart 2-B



Data table for Chart 2-B
Table summary
This table displays the results of Data table for Chart 2-B Revised and Unrevised, calculated using year-over-year wage growth (%) units of measure (appearing as column headers).

	Revised	Unrevised
	year-over-year wage growth (%)
2006
January	4.2	3.3
February	4.7	3.3
March	5.2	3.4
April	5.6	3.0
May	5.9	3.7
June	5.6	3.4
July	6.0	3.7
August	6.3	3.6
September	5.8	3.0
October	6.3	2.9
November	6.0	2.9
December	5.7	2.5
2007
January	4.5	2.2
February	4.1	2.6
March	3.5	2.1
April	3.3	2.8
May	4.1	3.1
June	4.3	3.6
July	4.3	3.7
August	4.3	3.9
September	4.7	4.1
October	4.1	4.1
November	4.0	4.1
December	4.1	4.9
2008
January	4.3	4.6
February	4.3	4.7
March	3.9	4.6
April	4.2	4.3
May	4.3	4.8
June	4.2	4.1
July	3.9	3.7
August	3.4	3.9
September	3.8	4.3
October	3.8	4.2
November	4.4	4.6
December	4.9	4.2
2009
January	5.1	5.0
February	4.2	3.8
March	4.8	4.3
April	4.2	4.0
May	3.5	3.2
June	3.2	3.5
July	3.2	3.5
August	3.4	2.8
September	3.2	2.7
October	3.5	3.3
November	2.2	2.0
December	2.5	2.4
2010
January	2.2	1.9
February	2.8	2.4
March	2.5	2.1
April	2.3	2.1
May	2.3	2.4
June	2.3	1.9
July	2.2	1.8
August	1.7	2.1
September	1.5	2.1
October	1.1	1.5
November	2.3	2.3
December	1.6	2.0
2011
January	1.8	2.0
February	2.1	2.4
March	2.2	2.3
April	2.3	2.3
May	2.2	1.9
June	2.1	1.9
July	1.9	1.9
August	2.4	1.7
September	2.1	1.4
October	2.4	1.6
November	2.1	2.1
December	2.5	2.2
2012
January	2.2	2.4
February	2.0	2.3
March	1.9	2.7
April	2.1	2.6
May	2.6	2.6
June	3.1	3.3
July	3.3	3.7
August	3.5	3.5
September	3.2	3.2
October	3.1	3.5
November	2.5	2.5
December	2.3	2.5
2013
January	2.3	2.2
February	2.4	2.2
March	2.7	2.2
April	3.1	2.6
May	2.5	2.7
June	1.7	2.4
July	2.0	1.5
August	1.4	1.9
September	1.6	2.3
October	1.6	2.2
November	2.4	2.6
December	2.3	2.3
2014
January	1.9	2.3
February	1.9	2.3
March	1.6	2.1
April	1.2	1.9
May	1.2	1.3
June	1.9	1.6
July	1.6	2.2
August	1.9	2.0
September	2.4	1.9
October	1.9	1.1
November	1.6	1.1
December	1.7	1.6
2015
January	2.1	1.7
February	1.9	1.6
March	1.9	1.8
April	2.5	2.3
May	2.8	3.1
June	3.0	3.0
July	3.7	3.4
August	3.2	3.4
September	2.6	3.0
October	3.1	3.1
November	3.2	3.4
December	3.0	2.9
2016
January	3.0	2.9
February	3.2	3.3
March	3.4	3.1
April	2.8	2.9
May	2.1	1.9
June	1.6	1.9
July	1.5	1.8
August	1.6	1.4
September	1.5	1.3
October	1.4	1.7
November	1.4	1.5
December	1.4	1.6
2017
January	1.0	1.1
February	1.2	1.2
March	1.1	1.0
April	0.8	0.6
May	1.3	1.1
June	1.6	1.2
July	1.6	1.1
August	2.0	1.6
September	2.0	2.1
October	1.8	2.3
November	1.9	2.7
December	2.3	2.7
2018
January	3.1	3.3
February	3.0	3.1
March	2.8	3.1
April	3.1	3.5
May	3.4	3.9
June	3.2	3.5
July	2.9	3.1
August	2.2	2.7
September	2.4	2.2
October	2.7	2.1
November	2.5	1.6
December	2.5	1.8
2019
January	2.3	1.9
February	2.2	2.2
March	2.1	2.5
April	2.2	2.5
May	2.3	2.8
June	3.1	3.8
July	3.2	4.6
August	3.1	3.8
September	3.3	4.4
October	3.1	4.5
November	2.9	4.6
December	2.6	3.8
2020
January	2.8	4.4
February	3.3	4.2
March	6.2	6.4
April	10.5	10.9
May	10.1	10.4
June	7.2	7.2
July	6.5	6.3
August	6.3	6.4
September	5.0	5.5
October	5.6	5.4
November	5.1	4.9
December	5.4	5.5
2021
January	6.3	6.2
February	5.3	4.8
March	1.9	2.1
April	-1.3	-1.8
May	-1.5	-1.6
June	0.0	-0.1
July	1.2	0.5
August	1.9	1.3
September	2.7	1.7
October	2.0	2.0
November	2.7	2.7
December	3.3	2.7
2022
January	2.7	2.4
February	2.7	3.1
March	3.2	3.4
April	3.3	3.3
May	3.7	3.9
June	5.0	5.2
July	4.4	5.2
August	4.9	5.4
September	4.9	5.2
October	5.3	5.6
November	5.8	5.6
December	4.8	5.1
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey (3701).

4.0 Historical revision of seasonal adjustment factors

Each January, seasonally adjusted Labour Force Survey estimates for the previous three years are revised using the latest seasonal factors. In 2023, to account for updates in the data arising from the NOC classification and data processing enhancements, revised seasonal adjustment factors have been applied over a longer time span. For more information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.

While microdata was revised back to 2006, seasonally adjusted and trend-cycle data for labour market indicators were revised for an additional four years, back to January 2002 and July 2001 respectively, to minimize the possibility of a break in the seasonally adjusted series.

5.0 Impact on labour market estimates

5.1 Impact on employment

Monthly seasonally adjusted employment levels were revised upward slightly (Chart 3-A), averaging 0.3% (+55,000) from 2006 to 2011; 0.7% (+121,000) from 2012 to 2019; and 0.6% (+120,000) from July 2021 to the end of 2022. The revision was essentially a level shift in employment. There was minimal difference in the year-over-year change in employment between the revised and unrevised levels (Chart 3-B).

For the period from March to May 2020, early in the COVID-19 pandemic, employment was revised down slightly (-63,000; -0.4%) as enhancements to the imputation system allowed for more efficient imputation for respondents experiencing job losses and temporary layoffs due to tight public health restrictions resulting in business closures. Between June 2020 and June 2021, the average revision to the number of employed was 0.3% (+64,000) higher than initially released.

The employment rate was also shifted upward on average (+0.3 percentage points) throughout the revision period of 2006 to 2022. However, the magnitude of differences was largely stable over time and did not impact the overall trend observed at the national level over the period. The maximum difference between the revised employment rate and the unrevised rate was +0.6 percentage points, which occurred at several points over the course of the revision: in December 2012 and January 2013; from July to December 2018; and August and September 2022. For example, in September 2022, the revised employment rate was 61.9% compared with the unrevised rate of 61.3%.

On average, the upward revision in employment was distributed proportionally across all provinces, leading to a non-statistically significant increase for each of them. For the period from 2006 to 2022, the average upward revision to employment ranged from +0.4% in Quebec to +0.8% in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Data table for Chart 3-A



Data table for Chart 3-A
Table summary
This table displays the results of Data table for Chart 3-A Revised and Unrevised, calculated using thousands units of measure (appearing as column headers).

	Revised	Unrevised
	thousands
2002
January	15,019.4	15,018.4
February	15,042.3	15,038.7
March	15,120.5	15,114.2
April	15,167.8	15,165.9
May	15,222.2	15,221.8
June	15,284.3	15,278.9
July	15,324.2	15,327.9
August	15,406.9	15,412.5
September	15,405.2	15,415.9
October	15,419.1	15,422.1
November	15,467.2	15,474.6
December	15,524.7	15,522.9
2003
January	15,544.2	15,542.7
February	15,601.6	15,596.0
March	15,609.7	15,598.9
April	15,593.2	15,593.0
May	15,574.8	15,576.3
June	15,627.1	15,632.7
July	15,648.4	15,650.3
August	15,638.9	15,649.6
September	15,674.7	15,681.3
October	15,729.5	15,731.0
November	15,778.5	15,781.3
December	15,821.1	15,817.0
2004
January	15,819.7	15,819.0
February	15,826.9	15,834.5
March	15,836.3	15,846.8
April	15,882.7	15,885.9
May	15,900.9	15,906.5
June	15,923.9	15,924.5
July	15,937.6	15,936.3
August	15,945.4	15,933.6
September	15,978.9	15,977.0
October	15,989.6	15,986.9
November	16,008.3	16,003.5
December	16,022.8	16,016.7
2005
January	16,034.0	16,031.5
February	16,047.1	16,049.7
March	16,046.5	16,050.1
April	16,072.3	16,075.8
May	16,076.7	16,073.5
June	16,101.8	16,100.1
July	16,142.2	16,140.9
August	16,186.6	16,180.6
September	16,172.2	16,165.9
October	16,211.7	16,206.8
November	16,241.2	16,232.8
December	16,232.3	16,226.4
2006
January	16,261.0	16,218.5
February	16,292.2	16,249.2
March	16,347.3	16,300.2
April	16,383.5	16,333.0
May	16,450.4	16,408.9
June	16,432.5	16,398.1
July	16,440.4	16,406.3
August	16,435.7	16,405.8
September	16,468.0	16,422.3
October	16,487.5	16,441.0
November	16,487.5	16,447.8
December	16,549.6	16,513.8
2007
January	16,615.0	16,576.6
February	16,636.4	16,588.7
March	16,664.8	16,645.4
April	16,658.6	16,611.2
May	16,682.1	16,645.7
June	16,728.2	16,689.7
July	16,796.2	16,739.7
August	16,817.5	16,759.9
September	16,836.2	16,803.8
October	16,883.7	16,855.8
November	16,904.8	16,866.6
December	16,907.1	16,859.2
2008
January	16,941.7	16,910.9
February	16,972.8	16,940.0
March	16,964.3	16,922.9
April	16,973.7	16,939.7
May	16,987.9	16,952.8
June	16,992.0	16,939.6
July	16,979.5	16,927.3
August	16,997.9	16,958.5
September	17,027.8	17,006.6
October	17,076.7	17,049.2
November	16,979.0	16,955.4
December	16,966.5	16,925.9
2009
January	16,827.0	16,792.9
February	16,784.8	16,735.8
March	16,765.0	16,720.9
April	16,730.5	16,666.8
May	16,741.8	16,644.5
June	16,710.2	16,634.8
July	16,700.2	16,643.0
August	16,696.5	16,638.6
September	16,745.0	16,662.5
October	16,757.6	16,665.1
November	16,822.0	16,747.1
December	16,794.3	16,732.2
2010
January	16,824.3	16,758.7
February	16,821.6	16,779.8
March	16,869.0	16,799.2
April	16,926.4	16,872.6
May	16,948.9	16,898.0
June	17,022.8	16,956.7
July	17,032.2	16,970.2
August	17,064.5	16,984.0
September	17,057.8	16,939.0
October	17,046.4	16,965.2
November	17,088.3	16,995.4
December	17,116.9	17,040.5
2011
January	17,187.5	17,099.8
February	17,181.0	17,100.2
March	17,188.1	17,120.9
April	17,226.2	17,150.7
May	17,207.5	17,144.4
June	17,253.6	17,178.2
July	17,290.4	17,201.3
August	17,306.6	17,225.8
September	17,300.4	17,244.0
October	17,286.8	17,212.2
November	17,280.5	17,204.4
December	17,296.6	17,219.4
2012
January	17,304.1	17,201.7
February	17,291.4	17,197.7
March	17,382.8	17,274.8
April	17,467.2	17,370.0
May	17,454.0	17,354.3
June	17,453.9	17,374.7
July	17,479.4	17,366.9
August	17,527.6	17,404.8
September	17,577.5	17,451.2
October	17,585.1	17,446.6
November	17,614.2	17,459.5
December	17,662.3	17,489.5
2013
January	17,655.2	17,508.0
February	17,714.8	17,553.8
March	17,642.4	17,508.4
April	17,671.2	17,533.5
May	17,734.6	17,596.5
June	17,726.7	17,589.0
July	17,698.9	17,585.3
August	17,727.1	17,614.0
September	17,717.1	17,601.9
October	17,725.9	17,607.0
November	17,735.4	17,628.0
December	17,704.1	17,614.4
2014
January	17,721.0	17,629.0
February	17,719.7	17,637.4
March	17,737.1	17,638.4
April	17,727.6	17,629.1
May	17,730.7	17,618.0
June	17,761.2	17,634.1
July	17,815.2	17,688.8
August	17,771.8	17,663.0
September	17,798.5	17,705.9
October	17,825.5	17,736.7
November	17,826.7	17,740.4
December	17,860.2	17,713.9
2015
January	17,861.9	17,740.0
February	17,878.8	17,755.5
March	17,920.5	17,767.7
April	17,878.7	17,750.3
May	17,897.2	17,782.0
June	17,883.9	17,786.2
July	17,903.0	17,827.7
August	17,926.7	17,846.2
September	17,938.3	17,825.7
October	17,951.7	17,843.7
November	17,917.6	17,820.7
December	17,905.0	17,819.3
2016
January	17,899.2	17,819.1
February	17,929.6	17,824.7
March	17,934.7	17,861.6
April	17,964.0	17,873.2
May	17,992.7	17,874.6
June	18,000.4	17,890.3
July	17,988.4	17,870.2
August	18,046.1	17,924.2
September	18,070.3	17,972.0
October	18,096.6	18,015.8
November	18,114.2	18,013.4
December	18,141.2	18,050.8
2017
January	18,223.2	18,133.3
February	18,251.5	18,147.0
March	18,272.7	18,163.4
April	18,296.7	18,182.3
May	18,332.5	18,235.2
June	18,391.6	18,269.1
July	18,434.1	18,290.6
August	18,460.2	18,335.7
September	18,459.6	18,332.8
October	18,489.2	18,371.2
November	18,567.5	18,439.3
December	18,631.9	18,516.1
2018
January	18,594.9	18,435.9
February	18,585.0	18,459.0
March	18,642.0	18,515.4
April	18,638.3	18,501.4
May	18,641.5	18,492.4
June	18,692.8	18,539.4
July	18,773.1	18,605.7
August	18,725.7	18,552.2
September	18,802.7	18,619.2
October	18,821.3	18,630.9
November	18,897.2	18,741.1
December	18,932.4	18,741.0
2019
January	18,973.9	18,822.2
February	19,025.1	18,876.4
March	18,989.6	18,861.7
April	19,116.4	18,971.2
May	19,132.4	19,004.3
June	19,144.9	18,995.7
July	19,127.9	18,965.9
August	19,178.7	19,025.5
September	19,183.1	19,073.1
October	19,174.3	19,063.4
November	19,128.1	19,000.0
December	19,198.7	19,082.4
2020
January	19,226.1	19,116.5
February	19,223.4	19,143.6
March	18,075.0	18,131.4
April	16,083.6	16,145.8
May	16,395.4	16,467.2
June	17,431.2	17,397.7
July	17,847.6	17,801.8
August	18,072.9	17,993.7
September	18,501.4	18,377.7
October	18,566.1	18,467.7
November	18,602.5	18,516.3
December	18,539.8	18,493.4
2021
January	18,353.0	18,285.6
February	18,622.5	18,558.1
March	18,875.1	18,834.4
April	18,678.1	18,635.6
May	18,619.4	18,584.8
June	18,872.9	18,799.4
July	18,982.0	18,879.5
August	19,052.4	18,947.3
September	19,218.6	19,121.8
October	19,255.1	19,141.8
November	19,394.3	19,297.6
December	19,473.2	19,376.2
2022
January	19,286.0	19,176.1
February	19,643.8	19,512.7
March	19,663.3	19,585.2
April	19,716.2	19,600.5
May	19,747.9	19,640.3
June	19,702.8	19,597.1
July	19,731.1	19,566.5
August	19,706.3	19,526.8
September	19,718.1	19,547.9
October	19,786.4	19,656.2
November	19,813.1	19,666.3
December	19,882.3	19,770.3
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey (3701).

Data table for Chart 3-B



Data table for Chart 3-B
Table summary
This table displays the results of Data table for Chart 3-B Revised and Unrevised, calculated using year-over-year change in employment (%) units of measure (appearing as column headers).

	Revised	Unrevised
	year-over-year change in employment (%)
2003
January	3.5	3.5
February	3.7	3.7
March	3.2	3.2
April	2.8	2.8
May	2.3	2.3
June	2.2	2.3
July	2.1	2.1
August	1.5	1.5
September	1.7	1.7
October	2.0	2.0
November	2.0	2.0
December	1.9	1.9
2004
January	1.8	1.8
February	1.4	1.5
March	1.5	1.6
April	1.9	1.9
May	2.1	2.1
June	1.9	1.9
July	1.8	1.8
August	2.0	1.8
September	1.9	1.9
October	1.7	1.6
November	1.5	1.4
December	1.3	1.3
2005
January	1.4	1.3
February	1.4	1.4
March	1.3	1.3
April	1.2	1.2
May	1.1	1.0
June	1.1	1.1
July	1.3	1.3
August	1.5	1.6
September	1.2	1.2
October	1.4	1.4
November	1.5	1.4
December	1.3	1.3
2006
January	1.4	1.2
February	1.5	1.2
March	1.9	1.6
April	1.9	1.6
May	2.3	2.1
June	2.1	1.9
July	1.8	1.6
August	1.5	1.4
September	1.8	1.6
October	1.7	1.4
November	1.5	1.3
December	2.0	1.8
2007
January	2.2	2.2
February	2.1	2.1
March	1.9	2.1
April	1.7	1.7
May	1.4	1.4
June	1.8	1.8
July	2.2	2.0
August	2.3	2.2
September	2.2	2.3
October	2.4	2.5
November	2.5	2.5
December	2.2	2.1
2008
January	2.0	2.0
February	2.0	2.1
March	1.8	1.7
April	1.9	2.0
May	1.8	1.8
June	1.6	1.5
July	1.1	1.1
August	1.1	1.2
September	1.1	1.2
October	1.1	1.1
November	0.4	0.5
December	0.4	0.4
2009
January	-0.7	-0.7
February	-1.1	-1.2
March	-1.2	-1.2
April	-1.4	-1.6
May	-1.4	-1.8
June	-1.7	-1.8
July	-1.6	-1.7
August	-1.8	-1.9
September	-1.7	-2.0
October	-1.9	-2.3
November	-0.9	-1.2
December	-1.0	-1.1
2010
January	0.0	-0.2
February	0.2	0.3
March	0.6	0.5
April	1.2	1.2
May	1.2	1.5
June	1.9	1.9
July	2.0	2.0
August	2.2	2.1
September	1.9	1.7
October	1.7	1.8
November	1.6	1.5
December	1.9	1.8
2011
January	2.2	2.0
February	2.1	1.9
March	1.9	1.9
April	1.8	1.6
May	1.5	1.5
June	1.4	1.3
July	1.5	1.4
August	1.4	1.4
September	1.4	1.8
October	1.4	1.5
November	1.1	1.2
December	1.0	1.0
2012
January	0.7	0.6
February	0.6	0.6
March	1.1	0.9
April	1.4	1.3
May	1.4	1.2
June	1.2	1.1
July	1.1	1.0
August	1.3	1.0
September	1.6	1.2
October	1.7	1.4
November	1.9	1.5
December	2.1	1.6
2013
January	2.0	1.8
February	2.4	2.1
March	1.5	1.4
April	1.2	0.9
May	1.6	1.4
June	1.6	1.2
July	1.3	1.3
August	1.1	1.2
September	0.8	0.9
October	0.8	0.9
November	0.7	1.0
December	0.2	0.7
2014
January	0.4	0.7
February	0.0	0.5
March	0.5	0.7
April	0.3	0.5
May	0.0	0.1
June	0.2	0.3
July	0.7	0.6
August	0.3	0.3
September	0.5	0.6
October	0.6	0.7
November	0.5	0.6
December	0.9	0.6
2015
January	0.8	0.6
February	0.9	0.7
March	1.0	0.7
April	0.9	0.7
May	0.9	0.9
June	0.7	0.9
July	0.5	0.8
August	0.9	1.0
September	0.8	0.7
October	0.7	0.6
November	0.5	0.5
December	0.3	0.6
2016
January	0.2	0.4
February	0.3	0.4
March	0.1	0.5
April	0.5	0.7
May	0.5	0.5
June	0.7	0.6
July	0.5	0.2
August	0.7	0.4
September	0.7	0.8
October	0.8	1.0
November	1.1	1.1
December	1.3	1.3
2017
January	1.8	1.8
February	1.8	1.8
March	1.9	1.7
April	1.9	1.7
May	1.9	2.0
June	2.2	2.1
July	2.5	2.4
August	2.3	2.3
September	2.2	2.0
October	2.2	2.0
November	2.5	2.4
December	2.7	2.6
2018
January	2.0	1.7
February	1.8	1.7
March	2.0	1.9
April	1.9	1.8
May	1.7	1.4
June	1.6	1.5
July	1.8	1.7
August	1.4	1.2
September	1.9	1.6
October	1.8	1.4
November	1.8	1.6
December	1.6	1.2
2019
January	2.0	2.1
February	2.4	2.3
March	1.9	1.9
April	2.6	2.5
May	2.6	2.8
June	2.4	2.5
July	1.9	1.9
August	2.4	2.6
September	2.0	2.4
October	1.9	2.3
November	1.2	1.4
December	1.4	1.8
2020
January	1.3	1.6
February	1.0	1.4
March	-4.8	-3.9
April	-15.9	-14.9
May	-14.3	-13.4
June	-9.0	-8.4
July	-6.7	-6.1
August	-5.8	-5.4
September	-3.6	-3.6
October	-3.2	-3.1
November	-2.7	-2.5
December	-3.4	-3.1
2021
January	-4.5	-4.3
February	-3.1	-3.1
March	4.4	3.9
April	16.1	15.4
May	13.6	12.9
June	8.3	8.1
July	6.4	6.1
August	5.4	5.3
September	3.9	4.0
October	3.7	3.7
November	4.3	4.2
December	5.0	4.8
2022
January	5.1	4.9
February	5.5	5.1
March	4.2	4.0
April	5.6	5.2
May	6.1	5.7
June	4.4	4.2
July	3.9	3.6
August	3.4	3.1
September	2.6	2.2
October	2.8	2.7
November	2.2	1.9
December	2.1	2.0
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey (3701).

5.2 Impact on unemployment

On average, unemployment levels were revised upward slightly, particularly over the period from 2006 to 2014 (+21,000; +1.6%). Unemployment rates were little changed on average between the revised and unrevised estimates (Chart 3-C).

During the early part of the pandemic, from March to May 2020, unemployment was revised upward an average of 5.4% (+116,000), increasing the peak unemployment rate observed in May 2020 by 0.7 percentage points to 14.1%. This was caused by enhancements to the imputation system allowing for more efficient imputation for respondents experiencing job losses and temporary layoffs due to tight public health restrictions.

To mitigate misclassification of labour force status in the early months of the pandemic, several survey procedures – including thorough training and supervision of interviewers, and clear instructions to online respondents – were put in place given the ambiguity in the mind of respondents who were absent from work as to whether their job (employer-employee relationship) or self-employment business was still in place, and the possible ambiguity over the concepts of “looking for work” and “availability to work.”

Outside of the larger changes in March to May 2020, the unemployment rate changed by a maximum of 0.2 percentage points at several points during the revision period, most recently in October 2021, from 6.8% to 6.6%. The revised national unemployment rate in December 2022 was unchanged from the unrevised rate at 5.0%.

As with employment, changes in the unemployment rate were observed uniformly across all provinces.

Data table for Chart 3-C



Data table for Chart 3-C
Table summary
This table displays the results of Data table for Chart 3-C Revised and Unrevised, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).

	Revised	Unrevised
	percent
2002
January	8.0	8.0
February	7.9	8.0
March	7.9	7.9
April	7.7	7.7
May	7.8	7.8
June	7.6	7.6
July	7.6	7.6
August	7.4	7.4
September	7.6	7.5
October	7.6	7.6
November	7.5	7.4
December	7.6	7.5
2003
January	7.5	7.5
February	7.5	7.5
March	7.4	7.4
April	7.6	7.6
May	7.8	7.8
June	7.6	7.6
July	7.7	7.7
August	7.8	7.8
September	7.9	7.8
October	7.6	7.6
November	7.4	7.4
December	7.3	7.3
2004
January	7.3	7.3
February	7.3	7.3
March	7.3	7.3
April	7.2	7.2
May	7.1	7.1
June	7.2	7.2
July	7.1	7.1
August	7.0	7.0
September	6.9	6.9
October	7.1	7.1
November	7.2	7.2
December	7.1	7.1
2005
January	6.9	7.0
February	7.0	7.0
March	6.9	6.9
April	6.7	6.7
May	7.0	7.0
June	6.8	6.8
July	6.7	6.7
August	6.7	6.7
September	6.7	6.7
October	6.7	6.7
November	6.3	6.4
December	6.6	6.6
2006
January	6.7	6.6
February	6.6	6.4
March	6.5	6.4
April	6.5	6.3
May	6.2	6.1
June	6.3	6.1
July	6.5	6.4
August	6.5	6.4
September	6.5	6.4
October	6.3	6.2
November	6.5	6.4
December	6.3	6.2
2007
January	6.4	6.3
February	6.3	6.2
March	6.3	6.2
April	6.3	6.2
May	6.2	6.0
June	6.1	6.1
July	6.0	6.0
August	6.0	5.9
September	6.0	5.9
October	6.0	5.9
November	6.1	6.1
December	6.2	6.1
2008
January	6.1	5.9
February	6.1	6.0
March	6.2	6.2
April	6.2	6.1
May	6.2	6.1
June	6.1	6.1
July	6.2	6.1
August	6.2	6.1
September	6.3	6.1
October	6.4	6.2
November	6.7	6.6
December	7.0	6.9
2009
January	7.5	7.4
February	8.1	8.0
March	8.3	8.2
April	8.4	8.3
May	8.6	8.7
June	8.8	8.7
July	8.8	8.7
August	8.8	8.6
September	8.5	8.4
October	8.5	8.5
November	8.6	8.5
December	8.6	8.5
2010
January	8.4	8.3
February	8.4	8.3
March	8.3	8.3
April	8.2	8.2
May	8.1	8.1
June	8.0	8.0
July	8.2	8.0
August	8.2	8.1
September	8.2	8.2
October	8.1	8.0
November	7.8	7.7
December	7.8	7.7
2011
January	7.8	7.8
February	7.8	7.7
March	7.8	7.7
April	7.8	7.7
May	7.7	7.6
June	7.7	7.6
July	7.4	7.3
August	7.4	7.3
September	7.4	7.4
October	7.5	7.4
November	7.6	7.6
December	7.5	7.5
2012
January	7.7	7.7
February	7.6	7.5
March	7.3	7.3
April	7.4	7.3
May	7.5	7.4
June	7.4	7.2
July	7.3	7.3
August	7.4	7.3
September	7.4	7.3
October	7.4	7.5
November	7.3	7.4
December	7.2	7.3
2013
January	7.1	7.1
February	7.0	7.1
March	7.3	7.3
April	7.2	7.2
May	7.0	7.0
June	7.2	7.2
July	7.3	7.1
August	7.2	7.1
September	7.1	7.1
October	7.2	7.1
November	7.1	7.0
December	7.4	7.3
2014
January	7.2	7.1
February	7.2	7.1
March	7.1	7.0
April	7.1	7.1
May	7.3	7.1
June	7.1	7.1
July	7.1	7.1
August	7.0	7.0
September	7.0	6.9
October	6.8	6.7
November	6.8	6.7
December	6.7	6.7
2015
January	6.8	6.7
February	6.9	6.8
March	6.8	6.9
April	6.9	6.9
May	6.8	6.9
June	6.9	6.9
July	6.9	6.9
August	7.0	7.0
September	7.1	7.1
October	7.0	6.9
November	7.1	7.1
December	7.2	7.2
2016
January	7.3	7.2
February	7.3	7.3
March	7.2	7.1
April	7.3	7.2
May	7.0	7.0
June	6.9	6.9
July	6.9	7.0
August	6.9	7.0
September	7.0	7.0
October	6.9	7.0
November	6.8	6.9
December	6.9	7.0
2017
January	6.8	6.8
February	6.6	6.6
March	6.7	6.7
April	6.5	6.5
May	6.6	6.6
June	6.5	6.5
July	6.3	6.3
August	6.2	6.2
September	6.2	6.2
October	6.4	6.3
November	6.1	6.0
December	6.0	5.9
2018
January	5.9	6.0
February	6.0	5.9
March	5.8	5.9
April	5.8	5.9
May	5.9	6.0
June	6.0	6.1
July	5.9	5.8
August	6.0	6.0
September	5.8	5.9
October	5.7	5.9
November	5.7	5.7
December	5.7	5.8
2019
January	5.7	5.9
February	5.8	5.9
March	5.9	5.8
April	5.7	5.8
May	5.4	5.4
June	5.6	5.5
July	5.8	5.8
August	5.8	5.8
September	5.6	5.6
October	5.6	5.7
November	5.9	6.0
December	5.6	5.8
2020
January	5.5	5.6
February	5.7	5.7
March	8.4	7.9
April	13.6	13.0
May	14.1	13.4
June	12.4	12.2
July	11.0	10.9
August	10.2	10.3
September	9.2	9.2
October	9.0	9.2
November	8.7	8.7
December	8.9	8.9
2021
January	9.2	9.4
February	8.5	8.3
March	7.6	7.5
April	8.2	8.0
May	8.2	8.0
June	7.8	7.6
July	7.5	7.4
August	7.2	7.1
September	7.1	7.0
October	6.6	6.8
November	6.2	6.1
December	6.0	6.0
2022
January	6.5	6.5
February	5.4	5.5
March	5.3	5.3
April	5.3	5.2
May	5.2	5.1
June	4.9	4.9
July	4.9	4.9
August	5.3	5.4
September	5.2	5.2
October	5.2	5.2
November	5.1	5.1
December	5.0	5.0
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey (3701).

5.3 Impact on labour force participation

The size of the labour force was revised upward, by an average of 0.4% (+77,000) from 2006 to 2011; +0.7% (+131,000) from 2012 to 2019; and +0.6% (+126,000) from July 2021 to the end of 2022, as a result of similar revisions to employment.

Throughout most of the revision period, the participation rate was on average 0.4 percentage points higher. The largest change, +0.6 percentage points, occurred at several points over the course of the revision period, including from November 2012 to April 2013; May 2014; from July to December 2018; as well as July and August 2022. In August 2022, the revised participation rate was 65.4%, compared with the unrevised rate of 64.8%.

Of the three main labour market indicators (employment, unemployment and participation rates), the participation rate was impacted the least by the initial shock of tight public health restrictions to the labour market in March to May 2020. In fact, during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic, the average revision to the labour force (+52,000; +0.3%) and the participation rate (+0.2 percentage points) were smaller than during the rest of the revision period from 2006 to 2022.

Appendix A: Variant of the National Occupation Classification (NOC) 2021 for the labour force



Appendix B: Concordance between previous and new data tables for occupation