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Economic fact sheet

Table 1 Labour force characteristics, by sex, 1998 to 2009Table 1  Labour force characteristics, by sex, Canada, 1998 to 2009

  • In 2009, women made up 47% of the labour force. While women continued to be more likely to work part-time than men, close to 73% of women who worked were full-time workers, up from 71% in 1998.
  • Between 1998 and 2008 the employment rate increased from about 60% to almost 64%. This was the result of an expanding economy and job growth. The employment rate for men increased from about 66% to 68%. The growth in the employment rate for women was more pronounced increasing from 54% to 59% between 1998 and 2008. In 2009 however, the employment rate contracted for both women and men.
  • After several years of decline—the unemployment rate in Canada climbed to 8.3% in 2009. While both men and women experienced increasing rates of unemployment, the increase was more profound for men. Between 2008 and 2009 the number of unemployed men increased by 44%, as the unemployment rate for men climbed from 6.6% to 9.4% in 2009. For women, the number unemployed increased by 25% between 2008 and 2009, resulting in an increase in the unemployment rate for women—from 5.7% to 7.0%.
  • For each year between 1998 and 2008 the number of individuals working full-time grew. However, in 2009 the number of men working full-time declined by 3.5% and women experienced a 1.1% decline in the number working full-time. At the same time, the number of men and women working part-time continued to increase.

Table 2 Average hourly wages of employees aged 15 and older, by sex, job permanence and union coverage, by sex, Canada, annual 1998 to 2008Table 2  Average hourly wages of employees aged 15 and older, job permanence and union coverage, by sex, Canada, annual 1998 to 2008

  • Average hourly wage growth was strong for both women and men between 1998 and 2008. Unionized workers continued to enjoy hourly wages that were higher than non-unionized workers. In 2008, unionized employees’ hourly wages were about 23% higher than their non-unionized counterparts.
  • In 1998, women's average hourly wages were about 81% of men's. By 2008, the average hourly wage ratio was 84% as the gap decreased. However, the size of the wage gap differed by union status. For example, women who were unionized employees had average hourly wages that were about 94% of men's in 2008 compared to 80% in 1998. The gap between women's and men's hourly wages was larger if employees were non-unionized. In 2008, non-unionized women had average hourly wages of $17.48 compared to $22.24 for men who were in non-unionized jobs, however the wage ratio remained largely unchanged at 78% in 1998 and 79% in 2008.
  • Temporary employees’ average hourly wages were less than the wages of permanent workers at an average of $16.59 per hour in 2008 compared to $21.98 for permanent employees. The hourly wage ratio between women and men who were temporary workers was 92%, meaning that for every dollar earned by a man, a woman earned 92 cents. This ratio was unchanged from 1998.

Table 3 Registered pension plans and members, by sex and type of plan, Canada, 2004 to 2008Table 3  Registered pension plans and members, by sex and type of plan, Canada, 2004 to 2008

  • There were more than 19,000 private and public pension plans in Canada in 2008—60% of these plans were defined benefit plans—up from 47% in 2004.
  • In 2008, women made up about one-half of the 4.5 million members of defined benefit pension plans.
  • There were about 7,200 defined contribution plans in Canada in 2008 down from around 7,500 in 2004. The majority (59%) of defined contribution plan members were men.

Table 4 Proportion of labour force and paid workers covered by a registered pension plan, by sex, Canada, select yearsTable 4  Proportion of labour force and paid workers covered by a registered pension plan, by sex, Canada, select years

  • Roughly one-third of the labour force is covered by a registered pension plan (RPP). Between 1992 and 2007, RPP coverage dropped for both men and women. Men, however, experienced a more precipitous decline than women such that by 2007 women in the labour force were slightly more likely than men to be covered by an RPP.
  • Among paid workers, RPP coverage declined from about 45% in 1992 to 38% in 2007. Coverage for men who were paid workers declined by about 11 percentage points and by 3 percentage points for women over the 1992 to 2007 period.                                                        

Table 5 Registered retirement savings plan contributions, by sex, Canada, 2000 to 2008Table 5  Registered retirement savings plan contributions, by sex, Canada, 2000 to 2008

  • There were approximately 6.2 million Canadians who contributed more than $33 billion to an RRSP in 2008.
  • Almost half (47%) of all RRSP contributors in 2008 were women, up from 45% in 2000.
  • The median RRSP contribution was $2,700 in both 2000 and 2008. However, the median contribution for men was higher than that of women over the 2000 to 2008 period. For example in 2008, the median RRSP contribution for men was $3,220 compared to $2,240 for women.
  • Although women made up almost half of all RRSP contributors, their share of total contributions was lower. In both 2000 and 2008, RRSP contributions by women made up 39% of total contributions (61% for men).