Study: Science and engineering employment in Canada and the United States

2000 and 2001

Although Canada may lag behind the United States in terms of domestic expenditures on research and development, proportionally, scientists and engineers are just as prevalent here as they are south of the border, according to a new report.

In 2000 and 2001, scientists and engineers together accounted for 4.5% of paid employment in both countries.

This proportion nearly doubled in both nations during the previous two decades. In 1980 and 1981, scientists and engineers represented 2.3% of paid workers in Canada, and 2.6% in the United States.

Canada's system of innovation is sometimes characterized as "disadvantaged" because Canadian businesses devote proportionately fewer resources to research and development than do businesses elsewhere, particularly in the United States.

However, the intensity of research and development is only one measure of an economy's innovative capacity. Scientists and engineers have long been regarded as important to innovation and technological progress.

This study focuses on a set of occupations that are classified as science or engineering-based by the National Science Foundation. These occupations include computer and mathematical scientists, life scientists, physical scientists, social scientists and engineers.

In 2000 and 2001, scientists and engineers accounted for a slightly higher share of paid earnings in the United States than in Canada. Scientists and engineers accounted for 8.5% of paid earnings in the United States, compared with 7.7% in Canada.

There were also some differences between the two nations in how intensively scientists and engineers were employed in different sectors of the economy. The sector with the largest share of scientists and engineers in both countries (professional, scientific and technical services industries) was more science and engineering-intensive in Canada. Scientists and engineers made up one-quarter of this sector's work force in Canada, compared to about one-fifth in the United States.

Conversely, the US manufacturing sector was more science and engineering-intensive than Canada's. Scientists and engineers made up 8.1% of US manufacturing employment, compared to 4.8% in Canada.

The study also examines a different but related group of occupations that contain a significant science or engineering component, such as workers in health-related occupations, and science and engineering technologists.

Canada and the United States also compared well in terms of this other group of science and engineering-related occupations. In 2000 and 2001, these related occupations accounted for 9.0% of paid employment in Canada, compared to 9.1% in the United States.

Workers in these occupations accounted for 12.2% of paid earnings in Canada and 10.7% of paid earnings in the United States.

Note: Data for this study came from the 1981, 1991 and 2001 Canadian censuses and the corresponding US censuses in 1980, 1990 and 2000.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 3901.

The research paper The Canadian Economy in Transition: Innovation Capabilities: Science and Engineering Employment in Canada and the United States (11-622-MIE2006011, free) is now available online. From the Our products and services page, under Browse our Internet publications, choose Free, then National accounts.

More studies related to innovation and technology use are available free of charge in the analytical series Update on Economic Analysis (11-623-XIE) on our Web site.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Guy Gellatly (613-951-3758) or Desmond Beckstead (613-951-6199) of the Micro-economic Analysis Division.