Income Research Paper Series
A profile of workers in the homelessness support sector, 2021

Abstract

This study aims to profile workers in the homelessness support sector using data from the 2021 and 2016 censuses of population. The homelessness support sector combines specific occupations and industry of employment to identify individuals employed in jobs that provide services to families and individuals who face homelessness. The study profiles these workers by geography, age, sex, family status, educational attainment, Indigenous identity and visible minority status. The study also sheds light on their earnings and poverty status.

Introduction

Access to adequate housing is a right for all Canadians and an objective laid out in the National Housing Strategy. At the same time, many Canadians face homelessness and struggle to secure safe and affordable housing.

Previous studies have suggested more than 200,000 Canadians experience homelessness over the course of a year.^Note  Statistics Canada counted 12,565 Canadians staying in shelters during the 2021 Census of Population. This point-in-time count (conducted on Census Day) does not capture the true extent of homelessness in Canada. ^Note Identifying the homeless population is a challenge in part because of transiency and the lack of a permanent address. Stigma and prejudice toward this population may also mean that people may not identify themselves as experiencing homelessness.

While much of the research on homelessness focuses on the individuals and families who face homelessness, this study aims to better understand the people who work in jobs that are providing services to these individuals and families. Workers in the homelessness support sector face challenges on a continuing basis including dealing with trauma and clients with complex needs. The nature of their work can lead to a greater risk of burnout, traumatic stress, compassion fatigue and a high staff turnover rate within the sector. These challenges affect the individual and the homelessness support sector as a whole. The associated mental health consequences are worth mentioning in this framework because they can play a role in the demographic and employment characteristics observed in the sector.^Note

Defining the homelessness support sector

Figure 1. Homelessness support sector

Description for Figure 1

The homelessness support sector is defined as the intersection of the “community food and housing, and emergency and other relief services industry” and either of the “social workers” or “social and community service workers occupations.”

Defining the sector in this way has limitation since it may include some workers who do not render services to individuals experiencing homelessness while excluding others who do. However, this industry and occupation combination clearly overlaps with jobs of interest and would include homelessness support sector workers.

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This work was done in partnership with Infrastructure Canada’s Homelessness Policy Directorate.

In 2022, Infrastructure Canada commissioned Statistics Canada to prepare a brief text and statistical tables describing what is known about the characteristics of workers in the homelessness support sector. These findings have been edited collaboratively to better present the results and should be useful to the wider audience interested in this area.

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The homelessness support sector grew between 2016 and 2021

There were 10,130 people working in the homelessness support sector in 2021, an increase of 60.7% (+3,825) compared with 2016. This outpaced the growth in the total number of employed people (+3.4%) over the same period.

Over the same period, there were also large employment increases in related occupations, such as social workers (+11.6% to 69,440 workers) and social and community service workers (+24.8% to 194,275 workers). This finding indicates that increases in these related field services also grew faster than the national average of all workers (+3.4%).

The number of homelessness support sector workers grew in nearly every province

Nationally, 9 of 10 provinces saw the homelessness support sector grow. Ontario (4,000 workers) and British Columbia (2,270 workers) accounted for the largest number of workers in the sector, which is mainly driven by the size of the population and number of large cities where services for homeless individuals and families are most commonly available. While accounting for more than half of the workers in the sector, the number of workers in Ontario (+79.0%) and British Columbia (+63.9%) also grew faster than the overall growth rate (+60.7%) of the sector.

The homelessness support sector grew fastest in Nova Scotia (+130.4%) and Saskatchewan (+125.7%) where the number of workers more than doubled since the previous census. New Brunswick was the only province where the number of workers in the sector did not grow, remaining at 110 total estimated workers.

The territories had very few workers in the homelessness support sector according to how it has been defined for the purpose of this analysis. Given the harsh weather conditions, cultural differences and smaller populations in the North, the way services are available and provided to homeless families and individuals may not be well represented by the intersection of this set of occupation and industry codes.

The six largest cities in Canada accounted for nearly half of all homelessness support sector workers. Toronto (15.6%), Vancouver (12.3%), Montréal (8.2%), Edmonton (4.4%), Ottawa-Gatineau (4.3%) and Calgary (3.8%) were the census metropolitan areas with the largest percentages of homelessness support sector workers in Canada.

Compared with 2016, Canada’s six largest cities accounted for a similar share (47.8%) of homelessness support sector workers. At the same time, some other census metropolitan areas saw the homelessness support sector more than double in size, such as Hamilton (+343.8%), Kelowna (+242.9%), Windsor (+171.4%) and Victoria (+147.4%).

 

The homelessness support sector grew fastest in large urban population centres

Large urban population centres are some of the places where homelessness is most visible but are also where many services for homeless individuals and families are located.

About 7 out of 10 homelessness support sector workers (70.8%) lived in large urban population centres, accounting for 7,175 of the total 10,130 workers in the sector. The share of the homelessness support sector workers living in large urban centres was larger than that of all workers (62.7%). The number of workers in the homelessness support sector living in large urban centres was also the fastest growing group (+75.9%) compared with the smaller sized population centres since the previous census.

While more services are located in larger centres, homelessness support sector workers who lived in rural areas (910 workers) represented 9.0% of the total sector. This rate was below the percentage of all workers that lived in rural areas in 2021 (17.3%), but the number of homelessness support sector workers that lived in rural areas grew by 8.3% since the previous census while the number of total workers in rural areas declined by 3.3% over the same period.

Women outnumber men in the homelessness support sector by nearly three to one

Nearly three out of four homelessness support workers (73.8%) were women according to the 2021 Census. This share was larger than the share of women in all occupations (48.2%). Social workers (86.1%) and social and community service workers (76.5%) also had a larger share of women than men.

The growth in the homelessness support sector since the previous census was strongest for men, where the number of workers grew to 2,655 (+1,175; +79.4%). The number of women working in the homelessness support sector grew to 7,475 (+2,650; +54.9%) over the same period. The stronger growth in the number of men working in the homelessness support sector led to a decline in the overall share of women in the sector from 76.5% in the previous census.

Fastest employment growth among youth aged 15 to 24 years

The fastest growing age cohort in the homelessness support sector workers since the previous census was among those aged 15 to 24 years (+132.8%). This group more than doubled in size from 625 to 1,455. The growth was strongest for boys and men (+176.0%) in this age group, and the number of girls and women in this age group also more than doubled (+123.0%) since the previous census.

Workers aged 25 to 44 years included the largest group of homelessness support sector workers, representing 52.5% of, or 5,320, workers in the sector. This group grew by 74.1% since the previous census when the total number of workers in this group was 3,055.

Older workers, or those aged 65 years and older, also saw their representation in the sector grow (82.0%) despite representing the smallest share of workers in the sector (4.5%, or 455 out of 10,130). The growth in the sector was seen to a lesser extent for those aged 65 years and older working in all sectors (+20.9%). While participation rates have remained stable for older workers since 2016, this phenomenon reflects Canada’s aging population, driven by baby boomers continuing to age and work into their senior years.

 

Growth in the homelessness support sector was strongest among those who had a bachelor’s degree or higher

Nearly 4 out of 10 homelessness support sector workers (39.8%) had obtained a bachelor’s degree or higher. These people represented the largest group of homelessness support sector workers based on highest certificate, diploma, or degree. This group of the sector grew by 82.6% since the previous census while across all workers in all sectors, the number of people with a bachelor’s degree or higher grew by 19.8% since the previous census and represented one out of three (31.7%) workers overall according to the 2021 Census.

The 4,035 individuals with a bachelor’s degree or higher were divided across 3,055 people who had a bachelor’s degree and 985 people with a graduate degree or certificate above the bachelor’s level. Focusing on workers with a graduate degree or certificate above the bachelor’s level, the number doubled (+101.0%) from 490 since the previous census. The group now represents nearly 1 in 10 homelessness support sector workers.

The share of homelessness support sector workers with a trade school, college or non-university certificate or diploma grew slower (+42.1%) than that of its counterparts within the sector, but still represented a large portion of the sector overall (39.3%) in 2021. The growth of this group of workers in the sector also outpaced the rate of change for this groups of workers in all sectors by more than 40 percentage points where the number of workers with a trade school, college or non-university certificate or diploma contracted by -2.4% since the previous census.

Social and community service workers had a similar level of bachelor’s degree or higher (34.6%) and overall post secondary education (79.8%) compared to the homelessness support sector. Most social workers (92.8%) had a bachelor’s degree or higher as their highest level of education, reflecting the regulatory requirements of this profession.^Note

 

Business, management and public administration degrees were the most common major fields of study in the homelessness support sector

According to the 2021 Census, 8,010 workers in the homeless support sector had completed some post-secondary education with a major field of study. Compared with the 2016 Census, which reported an estimated 5,005 workers in the sector with a major field of study, the increase of over 3,000 workers represented a 60.0% growth rate.

The major field of study that was most common within the homelessness support sector was business, management and public administration with over one in four (25.9%) workers having such a designation. This group of workers grew by 42.5%, which was slower than the overall rate. Most of the workers in this group had a major field of study in the subcategory of public administration and social service professions (2,075) that grew by 37.0%.

Workers with a major field of study in social and behavioural sciences and law was the next largest group of homelessness support sector workers, with nearly one in four (22.8%) reporting this designation in 2021. This group grew by 61.5% since 2016, and the fastest growing subcategory within it was psychology, a group that grew by 98.5% from 340 in 2016 to 675 in 2021.

There were also 1,125 workers with a major field of study in health and related fields. This group of workers grew 75.8% as they eclipsed the 1,000-worker mark from their 2016 total of 640 workers.

 

Half of the homelessness support sector workers lived in married or common-law couples

According to the 2021 Census, 50.0%, or 5,060 of the 10,125 workers in the homelessness support sector, lived in a married or common-law couple family household. This finding lower than the average for all workers in all sectors (67.8%) and lower than that of this group of workers share in the 2016 Census (56.0%). This change in share was driven by comparatively slower growth in this group of workers in the sector, where the number of workers in married or common-law family households grew by 43.1% from 3,535 in 2016.

Workers in the homelessness support sector living in one-parent family households nearly doubled since the previous census, growing by 94.0%. Workers in the homelessness support sector (15.5%) were also over twice as likely to have lived in one parent families in which the parent was a woman when compared with all workers (7.6%).  At the same time, the number of workers who lived in a one-parent family in which the parent was a man grew by 141.2% since the previous census, more than doubling from 85 to 205, but remained the smallest group within the sector.

The number of workers in the homelessness support sector that lived in non-census family households^Note grew by 80.6% from 1,625 in 2016 to 2,935 in 2021. This group represented 29.0% of the homelessness support sector, which was larger than the share of all workers living in these households (17.6%). Most workers living in these types of households were in one-person households.

 

Homelessness support sector workers were more than twice as likely to be Indigenous

Over 1 in 10 (11.0%) homelessness support sector workers had an Indigenous identity, which was more than double the rate of all workers (4.1%). This rate changed very little from 2016 when 10.6% of homelessness support sector workers had an Indigenous identity compared with 4.0% of all workers. Despite the rate remaining stable within the homelessness support sector, the number of workers who reported an Indigenous identity increased by almost two-thirds (+65.7%), growing from 670 in 2016 to 1,110 in 2021.

Social workers (6.6%) were less likely to report an Indigenous identity than homelessness support sector workers in 2021. However, social and community service workers (12.3%) reported an Indigenous identity at a similar rate as homelessness support sector workers.

Racialized groups accounted for more than one in four homelessness support sector workers

In 2021, over one in four homelessness support sector workers (28.4%) were part of a racialized population group, which was a higher rate than social workers (18.2%) and social and community service workers (22.2%) but similar to the rate of all workers (26.8%). The Census collects data on the main racialized groups in Canada, including: South Asian, Chinese, Black, Filipino, Arab, Latin American, Southeast Asian, West Asian, Korean and Japanese populations.

From 2016 to 2021, the number of racialized workers in the homelessness support sector more than doubled (+134.1%) from 1,230 to 2,880. While the growth of racialized groups in the homelessness support sector was stronger, it follows the trend seen in all workers who were part of a racialized group (+30.0%) and changes in the workforce that have been driven in large part by immigration.

Different data sources shed light on the specific experiences of the country's racialized groups. For example, the results of the 2020 General Social Survey on Social Identity revealed that these groups were more than twice as likely as the rest of the population to report having experienced discrimination since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and that this difference was more pronounced than in the five years preceding the pandemic. According to data from the Labour Force Survey, some racialized groups have higher unemployment rates than the rest of the population.

 

More homelessness support workers with employment income despite COVID-19 pandemic

In 2020, the incomes of many in Canada were affected by unprecedented measures taken by governments to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, Canadians working in non-essential jobs may have seen some of their otherwise regular employment income replaced in part by government transfers. For Canadians working in essential jobs or positions that allowed them to work from home, the impacts on earnings may have been less severe. The number of homelessness support sector workers that had employment income^Note in 2020 grew by 58.8%. This growth is contrasted against the smaller growth of all workers in all sectors who earned employment income in 2020, growing 2.6% since the previous census, but follows the overall growth trend of the sector.

Homeless support sector workers were more likely to be in poverty

Homelessness support sector workers were more likely to be in poverty^Note (6.7%) than all workers in all sectors (6.0%) in 2020. This gap was also present in 2015 where 11.6% of homelessness support sector workers were in poverty compared with 10.7% of all workers in all sectors. 

The gap in the poverty rates narrowed from 0.9 to 0.7 percentage points at the same time as median employment income for homelessness support sector workers shrunk over the same period. The median employment income for homelessness support sector workers was $34,000 in 2020, 3.4% lower than the $35,200 recorded in 2015, not adjusted for inflation. For all workers in all sectors, the median employment income grew 4.0% from $39,600 in 2015 to $41,200, not adjusted for inflation.

Income growth was faster for those with lower incomes, reflecting greater contributions of the Canada Child Benefit and pandemic relief benefits to the incomes of lower-income families. The contributions of these benefits to total income, when combined with employment income, helped drive the relative changes in poverty rates observed between 2015 and 2020.

 

Almost 1 in 10 homelessness support sector workers did not work in 2020

The outbreak of COVID-19 and the corresponding public health measures brought significant changes to the Canadian labour market. According to the 2021 Census, 7.7% of homelessness support sector workers reported that they did not work in 2020, a slightly higher rate than all workers in all sectors (7.0%). These rates were higher than those reported in the 2016 Census where 3.3% of homelessness support sector workers and 3.0% of all workers reported not having worked during the reference year.^Note

Homelessness support sector workers were more likely to have worked mainly part-time weeks in 2020 (24.1%) compared with all workers in all sectors (20.0%). At the same time, both the homelessness support sector and all workers in all sectors saw larger reductions in the share of those who worked mainly part-time weeks. In 2020, the share of homelessness support sector workers who worked mainly part-time weeks was down 3.7 percentage points from 27.8% in 2015. For all workers, the rate in 2020 was down 2.5 percentage points from 22.5% in 2015.

 

The COVID-19 pandemic changed how shelters were operated and used

A majority of direct service providers (79.5%) working with people experiencing homelessness reported a decline in their mental health during the pandemic.^Note Safety and health have also been a concern within the sector, since many are frontline workers and in close contact with clients. Moreover, people experiencing homelessness are at higher risk of infection with COVID-19 and many staff lack the training and personal protective equipment to provide their services safely. ^Note These safety concerns are compounded by reports of COVID-19 outbreaks within homeless shelters.^{Note Note}  Outbreaks can also diminish the number of staff available depending on quarantine or self-isolation guidelines.

Confusion surrounding public health guidelines and struggles with their application were also reported. Coupled with rapidly changing knowledge and guidelines surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, many staff reported confusion, fear, and uncertainty while navigating these circumstances. ^Note

In certain regions, homelessness support sector staff may not have been recognized as frontline or essential workers and may not have been compensated with pandemic pay or prioritized for vaccination. In addition, staff shortages are on the rise in this sector. Many staff have chosen to take leave of absences or quit completely to avoid exposure to COVID-19. ^Note

Summary

The findings in this report demonstrated that there are differences between the homelessness support sector and all workers in all sectors of the labour market. The homelessness support sector, while representing a relatively small part of the workforce with 10,130 workers in 2021, was a fast-growing sector (+60.7%), outpacing the growth of all workers in all sectors (+3.4%). Homelessness support sector workers were more likely to be women and younger. These workers also tended to have some post-secondary education more often than all workers. Homelessness support sector workers were about as likely to be visible minorities when compared with all workers in all occupations, however, Indigenous persons represented a larger share of the homelessness support sector compared with that of Indigenous people held among all workers. Homelessness support sector workers were more likely to be in married or common-law households with children or female lone-parents compared with all workers. Workers in the homelessness support sector also had lower median employment income than all workers and were more likely to be in poverty.

Using the Census of Population labour indicators

The Census of Population collects labour data on the long-form questionnaire from a 25% sample of private households in Canada. The large sample size allows for detailed analysis on relatively small sectors of the labour force, including the homelessness support sector. The Census includes demographic characteristics and a variety of labour-related variables, which provide a better understanding of the sector.

The homelessness support sector provides support to individuals experiencing homelessness, and to individuals accessing services that are targeted toward those at risk of facing housing crises. Labour market variables were employed to create a proxy for the homelessness support sector by using the two standard industry and occupation classification systems: the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and National Occupation Classification (NOC). The NAICS and NOC were used to identify workers depending on the characteristics of the employer and of their job, respectively.

Homelessness support sector workers can be found in the community food and housing, and emergency and other relief services industry (NAICS 6242). This industry group comprises establishments primarily engaged in the collection, preparation and delivery of food for the needy; providing short-term emergency shelter; and providing food, shelter, clothing, medical relief, resettlement and counselling to victims of domestic or international disasters or conflicts.^Note There are also homelessness support sector workers employed in the social workers occupation (NOC 41300), help individuals, couples, families, groups, communities and organizations develop the skills and resources they need to enhance social functioning and provide counselling, therapy and referral to other supportive social services. Social workers also respond to other social needs and issues such as unemployment, racism and poverty. ^Note Finally, social and community service workers (NOC 42201), administer and implement a variety of social assistance programs and community services, and assist clients to deal with personal and social problems.^Note

Workers in these industry and occupation categories clearly provide support to homeless people in Canada. However, it is also clear that they may also provide support for individuals who may not be facing homelessness. Taking that into consideration, a homelessness support sector worker was defined as someone working in the community food and housing, and emergency and other relief services industry, as either a social worker or a social and community service worker. This combination of industry and occupation more clearly overlaps with services that are targeted towards supporting Canadians facing homelessness. For the remainder of the paper, any discussion of the homelessness support sector refers to jobs that fit this intersection between industry and occupations. Industry and occupation data are not available for second or third jobs. This definition, therefore, may not capture workers employed in homelessness support sector industries who had more than one job, workers temporarily hired through agencies or other contractors, or volunteers.

It should also be noted that narrowing down the population to this intersection provides an approximation of the targeted homelessness support sector population; however, employing a method based solely on labour market variables may lead to the exclusion of workers in other occupations that may in fact be providing services to homeless individuals as a result of focusing only on the intersection of specific NAICS and NOCs. The analysis in this study also uses the characteristics of the primary job held during the reference week for people who worked at the time of the census. For those who did not, the industry and occupation information is for the job held for the longest period of time from January, 2020 to May, 2021.

Given that social workers and social and community service workers cover a substantial portion of the homelessness support sector, comparisons of these two occupations across all industries will be made to the homelessness support sector to address industry differences, as well as to better contextualize worker characteristics in the support sector.

Limitations of the data and analysis

The term homelessness may evoke different sentiments to different people when it is used in discussion. It is important to remember that not all homelessness is the same and that different types of homelessness may require different types of services.  Below are some examples of homelessness as defined by Infrastructure Canada’s, Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy Directives.^Note

• Staying in unsheltered locations, that is public or private spaces without consent or contract, or places not intended for permanent human habitation (Canadian Observatory on Homelessness (COH) Typology: 1.1 and 1.2).
• Staying in emergency shelters, including overnight shelters for people experiencing homelessness (including those for specific populations, such as youth, families, and newcomers), shelters for people impacted by family violence, and emergency shelters for people fleeing a natural disaster or destruction of accommodation (COH Typology: 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3).
• Staying temporarily with others without guarantee of continued residency or the immediate prospects for accessing permanent housing, or short-term rental accommodations (for example, motels) without security of tenure (COH typology: 3.2 and 3.3).

Counts of shelter residents from the census are not limited to just shelters for residents lacking a fixed address (that provide short-term emergency shelter), but also shelters for abused women and children, or other shelters and lodging with assistance, where residents may not necessarily receive service from workers from the community food and housing, and emergency and other relief services industry. These counts from the census do not include individuals and families who are facing hidden or unsheltered homelessness.

The 2021 Census occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Given the uniqueness of conducting a census during the pandemic, several limiting and unforeseen factors may have affected the results. For instance, COVID-19 related programs or social distancing measures may have affected counts in homelessness and the homelessness support sector from census to census.

Turnover rates, job vacancies and permanency of jobs in the homelessness support sector are not measured in the census but can be found in other sources.

Using industry and occupation codes allowed for the homelessness support sector to be broadly classified; however, that is not to say that all jobs that support the homeless are captured within this grouping of industry and occupations. To some extent, focusing on the specified homelessness support sector may underestimate the true size of the sector. There may be other jobs in other industries and occupations that provide support to the homeless; however, it is difficult to systematically identify these workers based on the labour market variables available.

The reference period for income variables is the 2020 calendar year. At the same time, the industry and occupation data can refer to the job held during the reference week, but for people who did not work during the reference week, they can refer to the longest job held since the start of 2020.  The differences in reference periods may result in an individual’s income not corresponding directly to their job characteristics. In addition, fewer Canadians received employment income in 2020, particularly women, lower-income earners and older workers while at the same time over two-thirds of Canadian adults received income from one or more pandemic relief programs.



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