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The HRM provides a snapshot of the tourism industries and the occupations they comprise as well as insights into trends over time. Analyses can be made on employment, hours worked and employment earnings for a period of ten years, starting in 1997 through to 2006. Derived variables, such as number of full-time equivalents, average hourly earnings and average annual hours worked per job can also be examined.

These key statistics of the HRM can be analyzed according to various characteristics of the jobs (employee or self-employed, full-time or part-time) and the characteristics of the persons holding them (gender, age group, immigrant status). Last, comparisons can be made to the CSNEA employment estimates for the overall economy and for selected industries as well as CTSA and NTI aggregates.

Because the HRM contains such a large amount of data, the intent here is simply to highlight some findings and to illustrate some of the types of analyses the HRM can support. The analysis will focus on the year 2006 and changes from the previous year. The year 2006 was characterized by a strong expansion in domestic tourism, but continued weakness on the international front, as the Canadian dollar continued to gain ground against the US dollar.

Economy-wide growth (as measured by GDP) was 2.8% in 2006, while tourism GDP was up at a considerably faster 4.2%. In addition, overall job growth was 1.8%, while the number of jobs in tourism industries was up at a slightly faster 2.1%. It is against this backdrop, that the following analyses are made.

5.1 Jobs, hours and earnings in tourism industries

This section aims to provide some broad comparisons with the economy overall in terms of the key variables of the HRM on jobs, hours worked and compensation.

Jobs in tourism industries totalled 1.8 million in 2006 according to the HRM, up 38,000 from their level in 2005. This includes both full- and part-time jobs, as well as employee jobs and jobs from self-employment. This means that the sector overall accounted for 11% of all jobs in the economy in 2006. On an annual basis, the proportion of all jobs held in the tourism industries has in fact been very stable over the ten years now covered by the HRM.

When taking into account only the employment that can be directly attributed to tourism spending (i.e., tourism demand) one obtains a very different picture. The National Tourism Indicators (NTI) show that of the jobs in tourism industries in 2006, only 509 thousand, can be directly attributed to tourism. As mentioned earlier, the demand-side components of the HRM have not been prepared for this report.

The number of jobs in tourism grew 2.1% in 2006, slightly faster than the 1.8% pace of job growth in the economy overall. It was also slightly faster than the average 2.0% growth in jobs registered by tourism industries over 1998 to 2005. The number of jobs in Retail Trade, a sector that is comparable with tourism in terms of its size and competes for similar demographic groups in the labour market, rose 1.6% in 2006, following a 2.2% gain the year before.

Table 1
Human Resource Module, total jobs, average annual hours worked and average hourly compensation

A total of 2.8 billion hours was worked in tourism industries in 2006, accounting for 9.7% of the 29.1 billion hours worked in the economy overall. This reflected an average 1,559 hours of work per year, somewhat less than the economy-wide average of 1,738 hours. The lower hours of work reflected the higher proportion of part-time jobs found in tourism. It is interesting to note that the average annual hours worked increased slightly in 2006 in tourism industries, but were unchanged for the economy overall. In Retail Trade, a sector characterized by a high proportion of part-time jobs, like tourism, the average annual hours of work per job fell from 1,584 hours in 2005 to 1,566 hours in 2006.

Jobs in tourism industries generated a total of $50.9 billion in 2006 in terms of compensation (wages and salaries, supplementary labour income, and a labour component of mixed income), up 6.5% from the previous year, and the fastest pace since 2000. In comparison, labour compensation across all jobs in the economy was up 6.0% in 2006, also the fastest pace since 2000. Meanwhile, total labour compensation in Retail Trade was $53.0 billion in 2006, up 6.1% from one year earlier.

The average compensation per job in tourism was $17.95 per hour in 2006, up 4.2% from $17.23 per hour in 2005. For comparison, the average hourly compensation economy-wide was $26.40. In relative terms, hourly compensation in tourism industries has been quite stable at about 70% of the national average over 1997 to 2006. The average hourly compensation in Retail Trade went up by 5.6% from $16.20 per hour in 2005 to $17.11 in 2006.

5.2 Tourism industry profiles

As mentioned earlier, the HRM contains aggregated data on five tourism industry groups: Transportation (with details available for Air Transportation and Other Transportation), Accommodation, Food and Beverage Services, Recreation and Entertainment and Travel Services. Appendix C lists the industry groups and shows the industries that make up each one. The following provides selected results intended to give a flavour of the kinds of industry analyses possible with the HRM.

Food and Beverage Services was the biggest employer in tourism in 2006 with 926 thousand jobs, accounting for over half of all jobs in tourism industries. This industry also registered the fastest pace of job growth (+2.8%) in 2006 among the tourism industry groups of the HRM. These gains were all in full-time employee jobs, as the number of part-time and self-employment jobs declined in 2006. Food and Beverages Services continued to pay employees the least, with an average hourly wage of $11.42. This was up only 2.7% from the year before, compared to 4.0% for all employee jobs in tourism. There was considerable variation in hourly earnings by occupation within this industry group. Restaurant and food service managers earned the most, $14.88 per hour, while food counter attendants and kitchen helpers earned the least, $8.54. There was also considerable variation in hourly wage gains in 2006 across the occupations; restaurant and food service managers saw their hourly wages increase 6.8% on average, while delivery drivers on average earned 1.3% less.

Recreation and Entertainment was the second largest employer among the tourism industry groups in the HRM, accounting for about one in five (or 372 thousand) jobs. This industry came second in terms of job growth in 2006, adding almost 9,000 jobs (+2.4%). Unlike Food and Beverage Services, these gains were all in part-time employee jobs, as the number of full-time employee and self-employment jobs fell. The industry continued to have the highest proportion of jobs from self-employment (18.5%), and accounted for just over half the self-employment jobs in tourism.

Accommodation posted the strongest gain in wages and salaries among the industry groups of the HRM in 2006, paying out $5.9 billion, an increase of 8.9% over the previous year. The increase stemmed mainly from higher hourly wages, which increased from $14.24 to $15.74 per hour as full-time jobs replaced part-time jobs. With 232 thousand jobs, Accommodation was the third largest employer among the tourism industry groups of the HRM. Light Duty Cleaners was the most prevalent occupation, with 45,000 jobs in 2006, most of them held by women. Managers in Accommodation have seen their hours of work trending down over the last several years from in excess of 2,500 hours per year in the late nineties to 2,233 hours on average in 2006. While this was still well above the average 1,691 hours worked among employee jobs in the industry, it was below the average 2,381 hours put in by Chefs.

The transportation industry group (which consists of Air Transportation and Other Transportation) accounted for about 13% of all jobs in tourism in 2006. Air Transportation alone accounted for 62.9 thousand jobs in 2006, up 1.7% from 2005. An additional 1,050 employee jobs were generated in Air Transportation in 2006, as part-time jobs increased (+1,369) and full-time jobs decreased (-318). While Air Transportation accounted for only 3.5% of jobs in the sector in 2006, it accounted for twice as much labour compensation. Not surprisingly, employee jobs in Air Transportation paid more than elsewhere, $28.42 per hour, nearly twice the average across all jobs in tourism.

Other Transportation accounted for 178 thousand jobs in 2006, up 0.4% from the previous year. These jobs came with the longest working hours, an average 1,895 hours per year, or 336 hours more compared to all tourism industries. One reason for this result was the relatively high proportion of full-time employee jobs (85%). These fulltime jobs also paid well, $26.25 per hour, second only to Air Transportation. Given that Other Transportation comprises a mix of several industries in the HRM including bus, rail, water, taxi and vehicle rental, it is not surprising to observe a wide range of wages. Taxi drivers and chauffeurs, for example, earned only $13.89 per hour, while transportation managers earned $40.09.

Travel Services accounted for 47 thousand jobs in 2006, up 1.3%, following a 5.9% gain in 2005. This industry group accounted for only 2.6% of all jobs in tourism. The average hourly compensation for jobs in this industry group was above average ($21.56 per hour versus $17.95), as were the hours worked (1,805 hours per year versus 1,559). Travel counsellors was the predominant occupation, accounting for 42% of the industry's employee jobs.

5.3 Profile of employees in tourism industries

The HRM includes details on three characteristics of employees namely, gender, age group and immigrant status. The following highlights some of the HRM results according to these demographics.

Table 2
HRM industry summary, employee jobs by employee characteristics, 2006

Women held 920 thousand employee jobs in tourism industries in 2006, an increase of 22,000 from 2005. These gains were mostly full-time and accounted for nearly half the job gains in the sector. Among women, the number of employee jobs held by those aged 45 and over increased the most in 2006 (+3.5%). Among men, on the other hand, jobs held by those aged 25-34 increased the most (+3.9%). The number of jobs held by women and men aged 35 to 44 hardly changed.

Women were notably under-represented in Other Transportation, holding only 26% of the employee jobs. Conversely, 68% of jobs in Travel Services were held by women. Women were more likely to be working part-time than men. They also earned less. Women working in tourism industries earned $19,100 in 2006, compared to $30,500 for men. There was significant variation in women's wages and salaries, with jobs in Air Transportation paying the most ($42,269) on average, and jobs in Food and Beverage Services paying the least ($14,632).

Youth aged 15 to 24 years held 658 thousand employee jobs in the tourism industries in 2006. These young workers were more likely to be working in part-time jobs than other tourism workers, accounting for two-thirds of all the part-time work in the sector. Their wages were also considerably lower. For example, the average hourly wage among workers aged 15-24 was $8.82 in 2006, just over half the average across tourism industries.

Over 1997 to 2006, the number of jobs held by younger (15 to 24 years of age) and older (45 + years of age) employees in tourism has grown significantly, averaging 2.8% and 4.8% per year, respectively. Over the same period the number of jobs held by 25 to 44 year olds has declined.

Immigrants (persons born outside Canada) held 344 thousand jobs in tourism industries in 2006, or 20% of employee jobs.12 They were more likely to be employed in Travel Services and less likely to be employed in Recreation and Entertainment compared to non-immigrants. Immigrants were also more likely to be older: 18% were between 15 to 24 years old, compared to 44% for non-immigrants. Over 40% of immigrant workers belong in the 45+ age group. Immigrants working in tourism industries were more likely to be men (53% versus 43%) and more likely to be in full-time jobs (72% versus 58%) than their non-immigrant counterparts. These results have been quite stable over 1997 to 2006.

On average, immigrants worked longer hours than their non-immigrant counterparts, 1,755 hours per year versus 1,485 in 2006. This was the case for both men and women and for full-time and part-time jobs, across the period covered by the HRM. Immigrants also earned higher annual wages and salaries on average ($28,769 versus $23,112 in 2006), although this reflects the fact that the immigrant labour force in tourism industries is older and that older workers earn more than younger workers.

 

12. It should be noted that the results for immigrants are based on 2001 Census proportions which are maintained throughout the period covered by the HRM (see Appendix B, step 4). These proportions will be updated with the 2006 Census data next year.