Summary of employment conditions of young people, 1981 to 2012

This section features a summary of the employment conditions of young people for 2012 and 1981, the earliest year for which comparable data are available for three key indicators: the unemployment rate, the full-time employment rate, and wages.

Table A.1 Summary table of employment conditions of young people, 1981 and 2012
Table summary
This table displays the results of table a.1 summary table of employment conditions of young people 24 years and under, 25 to 34 years, 1981 and 2012, calculated using percentage and in 2012 dollars units of measure (appearing as column headers).

	24 years and under				25 to 34 years
	Men		Women		Men		Women
	1981	2012	1981	2012	1981	2012	1981	2012
	percentage
Unemployment rate
All provinces	13.7	15.9	11.7	12.6	6.2	7.5	8.3	6.2
Oil-producing provinces	9.0	10.4	8.1	9.1	4.2	4.4	5.0	4.6
Other provinces	14.7	17.1	12.4	13.3	6.7	8.1	8.9	6.6
Full-time employment rate
All provinces	50.0	32.4	40.7	24.9	87.0	78.5	47.7	61.7
Oil-producing provinces	59.8	45.3	45.6	33.7	90.2	85.9	46.4	60.9
Other provinces	48.0	29.9	39.7	23.2	86.3	76.9	47.9	61.9
Full-time employment rate excluding full-time students
All provinces	72.1	57.1	57.8	46.1	88.5	82.4	48.3	64.8
Oil-producing provinces	79.8	71.3	61.1	56.3	91.3	88.9	46.9	62.8
Other provinces	70.5	54.0	57.1	43.9	87.9	80.9	48.5	65.2
	in 2012 dollars
Median real wage
All provinces	16.69	14.49	14.04	12.93	23.40	22.59	18.18	20.53
Oil-producing provinces	18.65	16.64	14.90	14.42	24.39	25.95	18.45	20.19
Other provinces	16.33	13.92	13.72	12.60	23.23	21.87	18.18	20.66
Notes: Among young people age 24 and under, wages are based on paid workers age 17 to 24 working full time in their main job in May. Hourly wages were adjusted using province-specific Consumer Price Index. The other indicators include all workers age 15 to 24. The oil-producing provinces are Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Sources: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, 1981 and 2012; Survey of Work History, 1981.

From 1981 to 2012, the unemployment rate of women age 25 to 34 declined from 8.3% to 6.2%. The decrease took place both in oil-producing provinces and in other provinces. Conversely, the unemployment rate among men age 25 to 34 rose from 6.2% to 7.5% during the period. The increase was more moderate in oil-producing provinces (from 4.2% in 1981 to 4.4% in 2012) than in the other provinces (6.7% to 8.1%). The unemployment rate also rose among those age 24 and under, that is, from 13.7% in 1981 to 15.9% in 2012 among men, and from 11.7% to 12.6% among women. Again, the increase was more moderate among men living in oil-producing provinces than in the other provinces. Among women, the increases were similar in both groups of provinces.

From 1981 to 2012, the full-time employment rate among women age 25 to 34 rose from 47.7% to 61.7%, but declined from 87.0% to 78.5% among their male counterparts. These trends were similar in both oil-producing and non-oil producing provinces. In addition, men and women age 24 and under who were not full-time students experienced a decline in their full-time employment rate from 72.1% to 57.1% among men and from 57.8% to 46.1% among women. However, the declines in full-time employment rates were less pronounced in oil-producing provinces than in other provinces.

Among women age 25 to 34, the median real hourly wage rose 13% from 1981 to 2012. These wage increases took place both in oil-producing provinces and in the other provinces. However, all men age 25 to 34 have experienced a median real wage decline of 4%. This decline was the net result of a 6% decline among men living in other provinces and a 6% increase among those living in oil‑producing provinces. Finally, there have been wage decreases among men and women age 24 and under, regardless of whether they lived in oil-producing provinces.

In general, conditions improved everywhere for women age 25 to 34 but deteriorated among men the same age in non-oil producing provinces. Among those age 24 and under, conditions generally weakened for both men and women, but the declines were less pronounced in oil-producing provinces.