Chapter A
The output of educational institutions and the impact of learning
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A1. Educational attainment of the adult population
A2. Upper secondary graduation
A3. Labour market outcomes
A1 Educational attainment of the adult population
Context
This indicator provides a profile of the educational attainment of the adult population aged 25 to 64; that is, the percentage of that population that has successfully completed a certain level of education. For this international indicator, educational attainment reflects the highest level of education completed, based on the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) categories.Note 1 As all subsequent indicators are examined by educational attainment within this international structure, this opening indicator, A1, sets the stage with an overview of the situation in Canada, including a brief breakdown of attainment by sex to reveal any gender differences. Information on generational differences, as well as overall trends, is presented as the portrait of educational attainment is expanded to place Canada and its provinces and territories in an international context.
Education helps give individuals the tools they need to participate in social and economic life and is key to the social and economic well-being of a country. As a large number of people in the 25-to-64 age range will have completed their formal education, this indicator provides some information on the skills and knowledge of this segment of the population, the core one active in the labour market. The educational attainment of individuals who are in the labour force influences the competitiveness of economies and the prosperity of societies. Variations in attainment over time reflect differences in access to education, and indicate the evolution of knowledge available in the working-age population.
The distribution of educational attainment across Canada should not be considered an exact reflection of any educational system's output because many other factors come into play; for example, differences in labour market and economic situations, in the relative magnitude of international and inter-jurisdictional migrations, and the overall mobility of students and workers.
Observations
Educational attainment in Canada
In 2010, about half of Canadians aged 25 to 64 had successfully completed a college or university education. Recent figures for the highest level of education attained indicate that approximately 24% of adults in this age group were in the ISCED 5B (college) category, while a fairly similar proportion, 26%, had completed their education at the ISCED 5A/6 (university) level (Table A.1.1). An estimated 12% were in the remaining postsecondary category, with "postsecondary non-tertiary education", which includes certificates or diplomas from vocational schools or apprenticeship training. And just over one-quarter (26%) of individuals in Canada had an "upper secondary education" (ISCED 3A), meaning that they had successfully completed high school and this was their highest level of attainment. As expected, the proportions of individuals with less than high school completion were low: 8% for "lower secondary" (ISCED 2) and 3% for "pre-primary and primary" (ISCED 0/1, which represents Grade 8 or less). This overall portrait of educational attainment among Canada's 25- to 64-year-old population in 2010 is based on data from Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey (LFS).Note 2
Table A.1.1 Distribution of the 25- to 64-year-old population, by highest level of education attained and sex, Canada, provinces and territories, 2010For the attainment levels up to and including "upper secondary", or high school completion, the figures for 25- to 64-year-old men and women in Canada were fairly similar in 2010 (Table A.1.1; Chart A.1.1). Approximately 1 person in 10 had completed no more than lower secondary education (ISCED 0/1 or ISCED 2), and the proportions for men at this end of the educational spectrum were just slightly above those for women. But larger gender differences emerge at the postsecondary levels of attainment, most notably among individuals in the ISCED 4 category. As this group reflects the traditionally male-dominated areas of trades and apprenticeships, it is not surprising that the proportion of men (16%) is double that of women (8%). The male–female differences shift for college and university attainment, however. In 2010, the proportion of women whose highest level of attainment was 5B (college) was 28%, compared with 21% for men. The same figure is seen for women's attainment at the 5A/6 (university) level (28%), where the figure for men was lower, at 25%. While the difference between men and women at the college level is seen for all age categories, women at the university level had an advantage over their male counterparts only among the younger age categories (Table A.1.3). Among the individuals whose highest level of attainment was a university credential, the proportion of men was higher than that for women in the oldest age group (55 to 64). Age-specific comparisons of the proportion of individuals with university credentials indicate when women began catching up to men (45 to 54) and then surpassed them (35 to 44). Among the youngest (those aged 25 to 34), the proportion of women is noticeably larger than that for men. With the LFS as the source of data, it is not possible to distinguish the female–male differences for undergraduate and graduate degrees,Note 3 as the 5A/6 category reflects a combination of all university degrees from bachelor's and beyond.Note 4
Generational differences and high school completion
A large majority (88%) of Canadians aged 25 to 64 had attained at least upper secondary education in 2010 (Table A.1.2). A comparison of the younger (25 to 34) and older (55 to 64) adults in this population shows substantial progress in high school graduation, usually considered the minimal educational requirement when it comes to seeking employment and being competitive in the labour market (for more on this topic, see Indicator A3, "Labour market outcomes" in this chapter). The highest proportion of individuals who had successfully completed their education at this stage (92%) was recorded for the youngest age group, while the figure for those in the older group was 82%. This is, of course, still a relatively high level of attainment, but the 10-percentage-point difference does indicate a gap between generations in Canada (Chart A.1.2). It is also worth mentioning that in Canada, there were no differences between the proportions of men and women aged 55 to 64 who had completed high school, while for the OECD countries overall, 66% of men in the older age group had attained at least upper secondary education, compared with 58% of women (Table A.1.2).
Chart A.1.2 Population that has attained at least upper secondary education, by age group, 2010
Internationally, an overall comparison of educational attainment for the youngest (ages 25 to 34) and oldest (55 to 64) groups also reveals a higher proportion of secondary graduates among the younger generation, yet the gap is larger than that for Canada: 20 percentage points for the OECD average (Table A.1.2; Chart A.1.2). Data from the OECD also reveal that several countries (Korea, Chile, Ireland, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Belgium, France, Australia, Finland, Turkey, Netherlands, Slovenia and Mexico), posted intergenerational differences of 20 percentage points or more in 2010, while the gap was more modest (below 10 percentage points) in countries such as Czech Republic, Switzerland, Norway, Germany and Estonia. The United States was the only country where the older generation had a higher proportion of high school graduates than the younger generation.Note 5 The fairly modest 10-percentage-point difference in Canada indicates that relatively higher stages of attainment had already been successfully achieved by the older generations. In fact, with 88% of its 25- to 64-year-olds having attained at least high school graduation in 2010, Canada placed sixth among OECD countries, just slightly behind Poland, Estonia, the United States (89%), the Slovak Republic (91%) and the Czech Republic (92%).
There were relatively small differences between provinces in the proportion of adults aged 25 to 34 with at least a high school diploma; the 2010 figures for all provinces were in the 90%-to-94% range (Table A.1.2). But the gap between this younger group and its older counterpart (the 55-to-64 age group) reveals greater provincial differences, with the most notable difference (24 percentage points) registered for Newfoundland and Labrador (Chart A.1.2). The large majority of provinces recorded differences of between 10 and 20 percentage points, while the gaps in Alberta and British Columbia were 5 percentage points. In the territories, the differences between the 25-to-34 and 55-to-64 age groups were even smaller.Note 6
Postsecondary attainment and age group
As mentioned previously, there are three categories of postsecondary attainment under "tertiary education" in the ISCED classification system (see "ISCED classifications and descriptions" in Notes to readers): ISCED 5B (also known as tertiary-type B), ISCED 5A (tertiary-type A), and ISCED 6 (advanced research programmes). In Canada, tertiary-type B includes non-university certificates or diplomas from community colleges, CEGEPs or schools of nursing, as well as university certificates below the bachelor's level; tertiary-type A refers to bachelor and master's degrees and other university degrees or certificates above a bachelor's degree (but below a doctorate); and advanced research programmes include doctorates and post-doctoral programs. Due to LFS limitations, ISCED 5A and 6 cannot be disentangled in Canada and the proportion recorded for tertiary-type B programs may be somewhat overestimated (see the "Definitions, sources and methodology" for this indicator).
According to 2010 data, about half of adults aged 25 to 64 (51%) in Canada had completed some type of tertiary education (Table A.1.3). This proportion varies by age group, with a 14-percentage-point difference between the youngest (25 to 34) and oldest (55 to 64) age groups in this population (Chart A.1.3). The differences between the older and younger groups were fairly large in most jurisdictions, except for Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and Manitoba, which all recorded differences of less than 10 percentage points. There was little difference (1 percentage point) between generations in Yukon. A different pattern is apparent in Nunavut, where the proportion of individuals with tertiary attainment was 10 percentage points higher for the older, not the younger, generation.
Chart A.1.3 Population that has attained at least tertiary education, by age group, 2010
Close to one-quarter (24%) of individuals aged 25 to 64 in Canada had completed tertiary-type B programs in 2010, far greater than the 10% average reported by the OECD (Table A.1.3; Chart A.1.4). Even if somewhat overestimated (see the "Definitions, sources and methodology" section for more information), the proportion of 25- to 64-year-olds observed for Canada does reveal the country's strength in delivering such programs, one not seen in most other OECD countries. By contrast, the corresponding international figure for tertiary-type A/advanced research programmes was a much higher 22%, which compares with 26% in Canada. Approximately one-third of the reporting OECD countries showed similar strength in attainment at the university level when compared with Canada, including Australia (27%), the United Kingdom (28%), and the United States (32%). However, the relatively lower attainment at the college level that is reflected in the OECD average is also clearly seen in each of these countries, where the proportions for ISCED 5B attainment were all around 10%.
Attainment at the tertiary-type B level (college) was generally on par with that at the university level, and it ranged from 16% in Nunavut to 27% in Ontario, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick (Chart A.1.4). For tertiary-type A/advanced research programmes (university), the proportions ranged from 13% in Nunavut to 30% in Ontario. Although both sectors are strong in Canada, the proportions of individuals with university credentials are somewhat higher in some provinces/territories, while the higher figures in others are seen for attainment at the college level. In 2010, Quebec was the only province with the same proportions for both. In Ontario and the four western provinces, the proportions of individuals aged 25 to 64 with attainment at the ISCED 5A/6 level were higher than those for their age counterparts with ISCED 5B credentials. The reverse is seen in the eastern provinces and the three territories.
Educational attainment has increased over time
Between 2000 and 2010, the proportion of adults aged 25 to 64 with less than high school completion (ISCED 0/1 and ISCED 2) decreased from 19% to 12% in Canada, generally with a slight drop from year to year (Table A.1.4; Chart A.1.5.1). These steady declines for "below upper secondary" attainment are mirrored in the provinces, as well as on average for the OECD countries.
The proportion of 25- to 64-year-olds with upper secondary/postsecondary non-tertiary attainment in Canada declined from 41% in 2000 to 38% in 2010 (Table A.1.4). Overall, however, the 10-year trend shows little variation, with slight ups and downs in several provinces. Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia and Yukon, where the proportions declined by 5 percentage points over this period, were the exceptions.
There was an overall rise in the proportions of individuals aged 25 to 64 who had completed their education at one of the tertiary levels (ISCED 5B or 5A/6). For Canada, the proportion of individuals in this group rose 11 percentage points between 2000 and 2010: 40% to 51% (Table A.1.4; Chart A.1.5.2). The comparable OECD averages were 21% and 30%, respectively.
Chart A.1.5.2 Proportion of the 25- to 64-year-old population with tertiary education, 2000 and 2010
Definitions, sources and methodology
This indicator examines the educational attainment of different age groups, by sex, among Canada's adult population aged 25 to 64. It presents a portrait of the situation in 2010, but also shows the evolution over the past decade.
The percentage of the population represented by a given age group that has attained a particular education level is obtained by taking the number of persons in this age group who have received a diploma attesting to that level, dividing it by the total number of persons in this same age group, and then multiplying by 100.
The education level corresponds to the highest level of education an individual has attained. The designation of the different levels of schooling is based on the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED-97) (see the "ISCED classifications and descriptions" and the "Mapping to ISCED" section for the Labour Force Survey [LFS] in Notes to readers). An individual must have successfully completed a programme at a given ISCED level to be considered as having attained that level of education. An individual who has not successfully completed a programme is assigned the preceding education level. For example, a secondary school graduate is considered to have attained ISCED level 3; a student who has not successfully completed secondary school, ISCED level 2.
The information presented for Canada on population and educational attainment is based on data from the 2010 LFS, which surveyed approximately 54,000 households every month.Note 7 The LFS seeks to obtain a detailed and timely picture of the population aged 15 or older throughout the country. It allows proxy reporting, meaning that information on the entire household can be collected from a single member of the household. In all, this type of reporting accounts for approximately 65% of all information collected. Figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are those reported by the OECD, and are drawn from OECD and Eurostat databases, as compiled from national labour force surveys or population registers.
Some limitations are encountered when using LFS data to examine and categorize educational attainment using ISCED as it is not possible to make a precise delineation between "postsecondary non-tertiary education" and "tertiary-type B education programmes". LFS data reported for the Canadian population that has attained ISCED level 5B will be somewhat overestimated because this category includes, for example, some CEGEP or college university transfer program graduates who, under the international classification standards, would have been placed in ISCED level 4.
In Statistics Canada's LFS, advanced research qualifications (doctorates), educational attainment at ISCED 6, cannot be identified separately; therefore, educational attainment in the ISCED 5A and 6 categories must be counted together.
Note: The corresponding OECD indicator is A1, To what level have adults studied?.
A2 Upper secondary graduation
Context
This indicator presents upper secondary school graduation rates. Graduation rates are often seen as a measure of student achievement. A comparison of overall rates gives some information about the extent to which school systems are succeeding in providing students with what is universally recognized as an important educational milestone. Presenting rates by sex reveals whether any gender differences exist; this in turn can signal whether those systems are meeting the needs of both male and female students. The graduation rate of the population under 25 years of age is also presented, which is useful in assessing how education systems can help older adults obtain a high school diploma.
Upper secondary graduation is the foundation for further education. It has become an essential milestone for most students and provides economic and social benefits for society. Historically, males had been much more likely to graduate from secondary school; however, that pattern has been reversed for many years in Canada and almost all other OECD member countries. Whether male or female, the value of graduating from high school also extends beyond the academic qualification by giving individuals what is now widely considered the minimum requirement for entry into the labour market.
Another dimension presented by this indicator is the adjusted successful completion of upper secondary programmes based on a synthetic cohort for public schools. To a certain extent, this indicator reveals the effectiveness of Canada's various public education systems in producing graduates within the three-year period typically considered by the OECD as upper secondary education (on-time graduation). In Canada, this period would be equivalent to Grades 10 to 12, or, in Quebec, Grades 9 to 11.
Observations
Upper secondary graduation rates
Canada's upper secondary graduation rate was 81% in 2009, according to the most recent data available for the country's provinces and territories (Table A.2.1; Chart A.2.1). This rate reports on high school graduates, during a given year, from public, private, and First Nations band-operated schools as a proportion of the population of the corresponding age—a "population-based graduation rate". It provides an estimation of the probability that an individual will graduate from high school during his or her lifetime. The majority of other OECD member countries also reported graduation rates of at least 80%, and the latest OECD average (2010) was 84%. In the United States, the upper secondary graduation rate was 77%, while the rate recorded for the United Kingdom (92%) was notably higher compared with both North American countries.Note 8 Upper secondary graduation rates for 2009 varied across the Canadian provinces, with figures ranging from 67% for Alberta up to 88% for Quebec. All western provinces, along with Newfoundland and Labrador, presented graduation rates below Canada's national average of 81%. This was also the case in the territories, with graduation rates of 39% in Nunavut, 59% in the Northwest Territories, and 65% in Yukon.
Graduation rates for the population younger than 25
In Canada, the upper secondary graduation rate for the population younger than 25 years of age was 77% in 2009 (Table A.2.1; Chart A.2.1). Some students take longer to finish high school, or leave school and return. High school graduation may happen past the age of 25 for a small proportion of the population. While 4% of individuals aged 25 and older in Canada obtained upper secondary graduation in 2009, this phenomenon was fairly important in Quebec, where the proportion was 11%. This may relate to the large number of graduates from pre-vocational and vocational programmes reported by this province in 2009, as graduates from these programmes are generally older than those from the general programmes. Several OECD countries also had upper secondary graduation rates of around 10% for those aged 25 or older; namely, Norway (14%), Finland (11%), and Denmark (11%).
Chart A.2.1 Upper secondary graduation rates, all ages and less than 25 years of age, 2009
Rates higher for females
In Canada, the upper secondary graduation rate for females was 84% in 2009 and the rate for males was 77%, revealing a female–male gap of 7 percentage points (Table A.2.1; Chart A.2.2). According to the latest figures provided by the OECD, the comparable average international rates were 87% and 81%, respectively. The upper secondary graduation rates for females were higher than those for males in most OECD member countries for which comparable data were available. In Germany, the graduation rate for males (87%) was slightly higher than that for females (86%), whereas in Ireland, Japan, and Korea, the female graduation rate was higher but only by about 1 or 2 percentage points, revealing a more balanced situation.
Chart A.2.2 Upper secondary graduation rates, by sex, 2009
In Canada, the female upper secondary graduation rates exceeded those for males in most provinces and territories; the exceptions were Prince Edward Island and Yukon, where the graduation rates for men were 1 or 2 percentage points higher (Table A.2.1; Chart A.2.2). Other than Manitoba (76%), Alberta (70%), and British Columbia (78%), all other provinces had a female graduation rate of 80% or greater. In the territories, graduation rates for women were below 50% in Nunavut, and were 64% and 68% respectively, in Yukon and the Northwest Territories. One of the largest gender gaps was observed in Quebec, along with graduation rates that were among the highest in Canada for both women (92%) and men (84%).
Rates by programme
For 2009, the total upper secondary graduation rates for virtually all provinces and territories—Quebec was the exception—reflect graduations from general programmes in upper secondary schools (high schools) (Table A.2.1). Quebec was the only province to report a notable proportion of graduates from pre-vocational and vocational programmes, recording a rate of 14% for both sexes in 2009. The Canada-level graduation rate for these programmes (3%) was thus almost entirely determined by Quebec's unique and rather extensive vocational sector. While the female graduation rates for general programmes exceeded those for males across most of the country in 2009, Quebec's rates in the pre-vocational/vocational sector were higher for males: 16% versus 11% for females. Higher graduation rates obtained for males compared with females in the pre-vocational/vocational sector may, however, only be a reflection of gender inequalities in enrolment within particular programmes. Graduates from the pre-vocational and vocational programmes in Quebec were also older: only 38% of these graduates were less than 25 years of age. This type of situation is also seen in Australia (47%), and to a lesser extent in the Nordic countries of Finland (54%), Denmark (58%), Iceland (60%), and Norway (61%).
Successful completion of upper secondary programmes in public schools
The previous discussion has focused on secondary school graduates as a proportion of the population of a particular age. Another way of looking at secondary school graduation is to consider how many of the students who enter Grade 10 (Grade 9 in Quebec) in a given year graduate, or complete their studies, on time. This successful (on-time) completion of upper secondary programmes is examined here based on a proxy cohort for public schools—a "cohort-based completion rate". The majority of pupils who start upper secondary education complete the programmes they enter in the three-year period typically covered by upper secondary education (i.e., on-time graduation).Note 9 In Canada in 2009, the successful completion in public schools was 72%, slightly higher than the average of 70% for the OECD countries that were able to provide the appropriate data (Table A.2.2; Chart A.2.3). The proportion of students who completed their education in the expected time varied considerably among the provinces and territories: from 14% in Nunavut to over 80% in Nova Scotia (81%) and New Brunswick (81%). Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Ontario, and British Columbia also recorded rates higher than the national average of 72%, while the reverse could be observed for Quebec,Note 10 Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and the three territories.
Chart A.2.3 Successful completion of upper secondary programmes, 16- to 19-year-olds, by sex, 2009
Using the same measure, the successful on-time completion of upper secondary programmes was generally higher for females than for their male counterparts for all Canadian provinces and territories (Table A.2.2; Chart A.2.3). Differences of more than 7 percentage points (the difference observed at the Canada level) between the successful completion of females compared with males were recorded in Newfoundland and Labrador (11 percentage points) and Quebec (12 percentage points). The Northwest Territories recorded a female–male gap of 11 percentage points based on a rather low on-time completion rate of 37% among women. By contrast, the smallest differences of about 4 percentage points or less were observed in Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Yukon.
All provinces and territories show population-based graduation rates (Table A.2.1) higher than cohort-based completion rates (Table A.2.2). The coverage and calculation of each indicator is quite different, so it is not appropriate to directly compare them. Having said this, many factors can explain the differences between the two rates: contribution of private or vocational graduates to the graduation rate (as in Quebec), contribution of older graduates to the graduation rate (as in the territories and Quebec), and high Grade 10 enrolments in private and First Nations systems relative to the population of the corresponding age group (as in Quebec and Manitoba). In considering enrolment, it is important to remember that students in private schools and First Nations education systems are not included in this indicator. Information on enrolments by grade and by age and real cohort information—as is available in many OECD countries—would be necessary to fully explain differences in the two methodologies.
Definitions, sources and methodology
This indicator presents net upper secondary graduation rates without duplication (i.e., first-time graduates) according to programme orientation and sex. It also presents successful completion of upper secondary programmes of a proxy cohort in public schools.
Net upper secondary graduation rates
These rates are an estimation of the probability that an individual will graduate from high school during his or her lifetime, assuming that current conditions related to graduation all remain the same.Note 11
Net upper secondary graduation rates are the sum of graduation rates by age, and the latter are obtained by dividing graduates of a specific age by the population of the corresponding specific age.Note 12Rates without duplication only count individuals who had obtained, during a given year, a diploma at this level for the first time.Note 13 In general, a graduate of upper secondary education is considered to have successfully completed the last year of education at this level, regardless of his or her age.
All data for Canada reflect the 2008/2009 school year; the OECD averages reflect 2009/2010. Information for Canada was drawn from the Elementary-Secondary Education Survey (ESES), an administrative survey that collects data for public and private educational institutions from the provincial and territorial ministries/departments of education.Note 14 To ensure comparability with other OECD countries, Statistics Canada added, for all provinces and territories (except Ontario and Nova Scotia, for which data were estimated), the number of 2008/2009 graduates from private schools provided by provinces and territories at ESES collection). The number of graduates from First Nations band-operated schools (these data were obtained from Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada), were also added to the number of public and private school graduates and included in the calculation of the secondary graduation rates presented.
Population estimates used in the denominator of the graduation rate calculation come from Statistics Canada's Demographic Division. They cover the entire population, including Aboriginal people, as of January 1, 2009.
Successful completion of upper secondary programmes in public schools
An adjusted proxy cohort for examination of the successful completion of upper secondary programmes has been developed for public schools (as per the scope of the ESES data collection) for Canada and the jurisdictions. It was calculated by dividing the number of 16- to 19-year-old (15- to 18-year-olds in Quebec) graduates in 2008/2009 by the number of Grade 10 (3e secondaire in Quebec) enrolments recorded three years earlier (i.e., in 2006/2007). This ratio has been adjusted to take into account deaths and interprovincial and international migration factors.
The adjustment factor is generated by dividing the 14- to 15-year-old population in 2006 (which represents the Grade 10 students) by the 17- to 18-year-old population in 2009 (which represents the Grade 10 students who graduated three years later). For Canada, where there is more in-migration than out-migration, the adjustment factor is below 100%. If this adjustment is not made, the inclusion of recent in-migrants who were not part of the original Grade 10 cohort would result in an overestimation of the number of graduates that were part of the original universe (the 2006 Grade 10 enrolments). This adjustment implicitly assumes that graduation rates of recent immigrants are identical to graduation rates of those in the original cohort.
Other possible flows in and out of the public school system between enrolment in Grade 10 and graduation at the end of Grade 12 may exist; for example, movement between public and private schools. Such possibilities could not be taken into consideration, however, as the appropriate data that would be needed to estimate such flows are not available at this time.
International data collection
The international figures used by the OECD are obtained from the UOE collection of statistical data on education, carried out jointly by three international organizations (UNESCO, the OECD, and Eurostat), and conducted in 2011 by the OECD.
Note: The corresponding OECD indicator is A2, How many students are expected to finish secondary education?.
A3 Labour market outcomes
Context
This indicator examines the connection between educational attainment and the labour market by looking at employment rates among the adult population aged 25 to 64. This relationship is explored by sex, and trends in employment rates by educational attainment are also presented. Educational attainment reflects the highest level of education successfully completed, based on the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) categories.Note 15
One of the main objectives of education systems is to prepare individuals so they can participate in a knowledge-oriented economy and society. Job prospects and employment rates are generally better for those individuals with higher education.Note 16
Observations
Upper secondary graduation minimum requirement
In Canada, the overall employment rate for adults aged 25 to 64 was 76% in 2010 (Table A.3.1), similar to the rates in Germany and Japan (both 76%), as well as the United Kingdom (75%), but higher than the figure for the United States (71%). The employment rate for the OECD, the most recent average based on the reporting countries, was 72%.Note 17 Of course, these employment rates reflect a complex combination of economic, institutional and social factors that vary from country to country, or from one province/territory to another.
Across Canada's provinces and territories, the overall employment rate for 25- to 64-year-olds ranged from 64% in Newfoundland and Labrador to 81% in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Several OECD countries had employment rates similar to the low end of this range: Hungary (63%), Italy (64%), Spain (65%), and Greece and Ireland (67%). By contrast, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Switzerland all had higher employment rates of 81% or 82%.
From an educational perspective, it is interesting to examine the impact of educational attainment on employability. In OECD countries, upper secondary (high school) graduation is considered the minimum requirement for finding a good job and being competitive in the labour market. Moreover, employability, judged on the basis of the employment rate (the ratio of the number of persons with a job in a given group to the total population of that group), increases with the amount of education attained. This relationship is evident in Canada, where in 2010, the employment rates for individuals aged 25 to 64 who had either "pre-primary and primary" or "lower secondary" as their highest level of attainment (that is, they had not completed high school) were 43% and 60%, respectively (Table A.3.1). Employment rates then rose from one level to another across the spectrum of educational attainment, from 72% for those with "upper secondary" attainment (high school graduation) to at least 78% for individuals who had completed their education in one of the postsecondary categories.
Across the country, the employment advantage associated with increasing levels of education is generally evident in the 2010 figures, but some variability is seen. For example, in the provinces, the overall employment rates among those with successful high school completion ranged from 61% in Newfoundland and Labrador to rates between 77% and 80% in Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, rates that, in general, approach or exceed those for individuals with postsecondary education elsewhere in the country (Table A.3.1). (See "Differences in employability" in this indicator for more on this topic.)
Employment rates by sex
The differences in employment rates seen across ISCED categories occur among both men and women in Canada, although the rates for women are consistently lower than those recorded for men. In 2010, Canada's overall employment rate for women aged 25 to 64 was 72%, compared with 79% for men in the same age range (Table A.3.1). While Canada's rate for women is 7 percentage points higher than the comparable OECD average of 65%, there is almost no difference between the national and international rates for men with 79% in Canada and 80% for the OECD average. Although the employment rates for men in Canada were lower than the corresponding OECD averages for each attainment category, there were fewer differences between the Canada and OECD average employment rates for women.
Across Canada, the rate for women mirrored the national average in Prince Edward Island and Ontario, and was above the national figure in Alberta (73%) and Saskatchewan (77%), as well as in Manitoba, the Northwest Territories, and Yukon (all approximately 76%). With an overall employment rate of 62% for women, Newfoundland and Labrador was the only province with a rate below the OECD average (65%) and below the 72% average for Canada.
In the majority of OECD countries in 2010, the difference in employment rates between the sexes was less pronounced among graduates of tertiary-type A and advanced research programmes when compared with the upper secondary graduates. In Canada, a 10-percentage-point difference between men and women is observed in the "upper secondary" (ISCED 3A) graduation category (Table A.3.1; Chart A.3.1). But that male–female difference narrows among graduates of tertiary programs, both type B (college) and type A/advanced research programmes (university).
Differences in employability
Across Canada, as in other OECD countries, 25- to 64-year-olds with postsecondary education have consistently higher employment rates than those who do not graduate from high school. At the Canada level, the difference between the employment rate for tertiary graduates (81%) and the rate for those with "below upper secondary education" (55%) was a substantial 26 percentage points in 2010 (Table A.3.2; Chart A.3.2). A similar gap (28 percentage points) is seen at the international level, according to the most recent OECD averages for this 25-to-64 age group. Among the provinces, the difference between employment rates for these two education categories varied in magnitude, ranging from 18 percentage points in Alberta to 38 in Newfoundland and Labrador.
As noted earlier, individuals who have completed upper secondary education are generally more likely to be employed than people with below upper secondary education, and those with tertiary education are more likely to be employed than those with upper secondary education. However, examining the various relationships between educational attainment and employment rates across Canada's provinces and territories reveals different patterns in the magnitude of the employment advantage of higher education. In 2010, in the provinces east of Manitoba, employment rates increased from one postsecondary level to another, with the highest gains evident for individuals who had attained a university education (ISCED 5A/6) (Table A.3.1). Figures for Western Canada indicate different gains in employment rates. In Manitoba and Saskatchewan, for example, the employment rate in all three postsecondary categories was similarly high, at 85% for university, for "postsecondary non-tertiary" (vocational school or apprenticeship training), and for "tertiary-type B" (mainly a college diploma). In Alberta, individuals whose highest level of attainment was vocational school/apprenticeship training had higher employment rates than those with a college or university credential. And in British Columbia, similar gains in employment are seen for individuals with postsecondary non-tertiary and university completion, with a slightly lower employment rate for those with a college credential. These rates in the western part of the country indicate provincial economies that drive high employment rates regardless of educational attainment. And, in general, differences across the country largely relate to the structure and composition of individual provincial economies, but show the complexity that can be found within larger trends, both geographically and over time.
Variability in employment rates
Between 1998 and 2010, the variations in employment rates for 25- to 64-year-olds with different levels of educational attainment were fairly small in Canada (Table A.3.2). Nevertheless, a closer look provides some insight into the relationship between the different attainment groups and labour market conditions. In Canada, adults with less than high school completion (below upper secondary) were the most affected by less favourable labour market conditions (Chart A.3.3). Over the 12-year period, the differences between the highest and lowest employment rates for this group varied by 4 percentage points. At the same time, there was far less variation (1.5 percentage points) in the rend for adults with tertiary education. This pattern was similar across the provinces and territories, although the variability was higher in some than in others. In British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, and the territories, the higher variability of the employment rate over time seems to indicate a greater sensitivity to economic conditions, especially for adults with lower educational attainment.
Definitions, sources and methodology
This indicator, labour market outcomes, examines the relationship between educational attainment and the employment rates of 25- to 64-year-olds, overall and by sex, and provides insight into how this relationship has evolved over time.
The employment rate represents the percentage of employed people in this population. To calculate the employment rate for a group with a particular level of educational attainment, the number of employed persons is divided by the total number of persons in the population aged 25 to 64 who have attained the education level and then multiplying this quotient by 100.
The concepts and definitions of employment and unemployment adopted by the Labour Force Survey (LFS) are based on those endorsed by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Employed persons are those who, during the reference week: (1) did any work at all at a job or business, that is, paid work in the context of an employer-employee relationship, or self-employment. 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; or (2) had a job but were not at work due to factors such as own illness or disability, personal or family responsibilities, vacation, labour dispute or other reasons (excluding persons on layoff, between casual jobs, and those with a job to start at a future date).Note 18 The education level is measured according to the highest level of schooling completed.
The data for Canada and its provinces and territories were drawn from the 2010 Labour Force Survey (LFS), which surveyed approximately 54,000 households every month.Note 19 The LFS excludes the following from the scope of the survey: individuals who live on reserves or in other Aboriginal settlements in the provinces, full-time members of the Canadian Forces and institutional residents. The LFS employment rate is based on a monthly average from January to December. Figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are those reported by the OECD, and they are extracted from the OECD and Eurostat databases compiled from national labour force surveys for the OECD member countries.
Note: The corresponding OECD indicator is A7, How does educational attainment affect participation in the labour market?.
Notes
- See the "ISCED classifications and descriptions" section in this report's Notes to readers for brief descriptions of the ISCED categories.
- For more information on the Labour Force Survey (LFS) educational attainment categories and the international classification scheme, see "Mapping to ISCED" in this report's Notes to readers section.
- For a brief outline of enrolments and graduation rates by sex in Canada, particularly at the doctoral level, see the Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program (PCEIP) Fact sheet Number 6, Doctoral students and university teaching staff, Statistics Canada Catalogue number 81-599-X.
- For more information on the Labour Force Survey (LFS) educational attainment categories and the international classification scheme, see "Mapping to ISCED" in this report's Notes to readers section.
- The international data presented in this report reflect the figures available from the OECD at the time of writing; however, the OECD may have made further final adjustments. For more detailed information on the latest international statistics, refer to Education at a Glance 2012: OECD Indicators, available on the OECD Web site.
- In the territories, caution should be exercised when interpreting the differences between age groups at a given level of educational attainment. The proportions for the different age groups are based on estimates for relatively small populations and are thus associated with larger variability.
- Following the release of final population estimates from each census, a standard revision is applied to the Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates. Thus some previously published LFS figures have been adjusted to reflect the 2006 Census population estimates. The LFS sample size has varied over the years, but the survey typically, and currently, covers approximately 56,000 households. For more information, see Improvements to the Labour Force Survey (LFS): The 2011 Revisions of the Labour Force Survey (LFS), Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 71F0031X, and Guide to the Labour Force Survey, Statistics Catalogue no. 71-543-G.
- The international data presented in this report reflect the figures available from the OECD at the time of writing; however, the OECD may have made further final adjustments. For more detailed information on the latest international statistics, please refer to Education at a Glance 2012: OECD Indicators, available on the OECD Web site.
- The "proxy cohort" methodology used in this report to produce the successful completion of upper secondary programmes for Canada and the provinces/territories differs from a "true cohort" methodology that may be used in a particular province/territory; consequently, the numbers in this report may differ slightly from those published by the provinces/territories.
- Given the importance of enrolment and graduation from private schools in Quebec, the results presented in this report may be underestimating the actual proportion of successful completion of upper secondary programmes in this province. In Quebec, 18% of all secondary school graduates obtain their credentials through a private school. Using enrolment and graduation estimates for this province, the successful completion of upper secondary programmes combining both public and private schools increased from 63% to 67%, slightly lower than the average of 70% for the OECD countries that were able to provide the appropriate data, and the Canada-level average of 72%.
- The methodology used to produce the numbers for Canada and the provinces/territories may differ from that used in a particular province/territory; consequently, the numbers in this report may differ slightly from those published by the provinces/territories.
- This methodology differs from the one used in the 2009 and 2010 editions of this report, but is similar to that in last year's edition. In the earlier editions, this indicator was computed according to the "gross" method, which divides the number of all graduates, regardless of age, by the population at typical age of graduation (determined to be between age 17 and 18).
- In Canada, data on high school graduation is collected through the Elementary-Secondary Education Survey, which collects information on individuals who graduated at this level for the first time (unduplicated counts).
- Data on graduations from some secondary programs are not uniformly available across the provinces/territories, and general education development (GED) credentials, adult basic upgrading and education, and graduation from adult school, which take place outside regular secondary school programs, are, in most instances, not included.
- See the "ISCED classifications and descriptions" section in this report's Notes to readers for brief descriptions of the ISCED categories.
- Also see the Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program (PCEIP) Fact sheet Number 8, Educational attainment and employment: Canada in an international context, Statistics Canada Catalogue number 81-599-X.
- The international data presented in this report reflect the figures available from the OECD at the time of writing; however, the OECD may have made further final adjustments. For more detailed information on the latest international statistics, please refer to Education at a Glance 2012: OECD Indicators, available on the OECD Web site.
- For more information, see "Determining labour force status" in the Guide to the Labour Force Survey, Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 71-543-G.
- Following the release of final population estimates from each census, a standard revision is applied to the Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates. Thus some previously published LFS figures have been adjusted to reflect the 2006 Census population estimates. The LFS sample size has varied over the years, but the survey typically, and currently, covers approximately 56,000 households. For more information, see Improvements to the Labour Force Survey (LFS): The 2011 Revisions of the Labour Force Survey (LFS), Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 71F0031X, and Guide to the Labour Force Survey, Statistics Canada Catalogue no.71-543-G.
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