Education Indicators in Canada: An International Perspective 2016
Chapter A
The output of educational institutions and the impact of learning
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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 breakdown of attainment by sex to reveal any gender differences. Information on generational differences reflects the shifts in educational attainment over time. Overall trends are also presented. This portrait of educational attainment places 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 segment active in the labour market. Overall, the educational attainment of all individuals in the working-age population 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
Data table for Chart A.1.1
ITA | FRA | GBR | DEU | USA | OECD | CAN | N.L. | P.E.I. | N.S. | N.B. | Que. | Ont. | Man. | Sask. | Alta. | B.C. | Y.T. | N.W.T. | Nvt. | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
percent | ||||||||||||||||||||
Below upper secondary |
40 | 23 | 21 | 13 | 10 | 22 | 10 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 17 | 46 |
Upper secondary |
42 | 44 | 36 | 48 | 45 | 40 | 24 | 22 | 26 | 22 | 28 | 19 | 25 | 29 | 30 | 27 | 28 | 22 | 23 | 14 |
Postsecondary non-tertiary |
1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 21 | 9 | 14 | 9 | 17 | 5 | 9 | 17 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 9 |
Short cycle tertiary |
0 | 15 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 8 | 26 | 24 | 29 | 26 | 30 | 24 | 29 | 23 | 19 | 22 | 23 | 26 | 23 | 17 |
Bachelor's, master's or doctoral or equivalent |
18 | 19 | 33 | 27 | 34 | 28 | 30 | 18 | 24 | 27 | 20 | 27 | 33 | 27 | 24 | 29 | 31 | 30 | 23 | 15 |
Sources : Table A.1.1, Table A.1.4. and Education at a Glance 2016: OECD indicators. |
- Roughly one-quarter (26%) of Canadians 25- to 64-years-old had attained a college (short cycle tertiary) qualification, while 30% had completed their education at the university level. Canada had the highest proportion of its population aged 25 to 64 years old with short-cycle tertiary education (26%) among G7 countries, with the other countries ranging from 0% (Italy) to 15% (France).
- At the university level, the proportion of Canadians (30%) with university as the highest educational qualification is more similar to that of other G7 countries.
- Approximately 11% of Canadians had attained a “postsecondary non-tertiary education”, which includes certificates or diplomas from vocational schools or apprenticeship training.Note 2 Among G7 countries, this is not a common level of attainment – only Germany had a substantial proportion of the population (11%) who had postsecondary non-tertiary education as their highest level of attainment.
- One in 10 Canadians (10%) had not completed high school (“upper secondary”). Among G7 countries, Canada is comparable to the United States at 10% and Germany at 13%, but significantly lower than the United Kingdom (21%), France (23%) and Italy (40%).
Gender differences, Canada and OECD
Data table for Chart A.1.2
Highest level of Education attained | Men | Women |
---|---|---|
percent | ||
Below upper secondary | 11 | 8 |
Upper secondary | 25 | 23 |
Postsecondary non-tertiary | 15 | 7 |
Short cycle tertiary |
22 | 29 |
Bachelor's or equivalent | 18 | 22 |
Master's, doctoral or equivalent | 9 | 10 |
Source: Table A.1.1. |
- Overall, men had lower levels of educational attainment than women. A larger proportion of men had below upper secondary education as their highest level of educational attainment.
- At the post-secondary non-tertiary level, which captures the traditionally male-dominated areas of trades, the proportion of men (15%) was close to double that of women (7%). The opposite was true at the college and university levels, with the gap more marked at college (29% for women vs 22% for men) than university (32% for women and 27% for men).
Tertiary attainment
Data table for Chart A.1.3
Canada, provinces, territories and OECD | Bachelor's, master's or doctoral or equivalent | Short cycle tertiary |
---|---|---|
percent | ||
OECD | 28 | 8 |
CAN | 30 | 26 |
N.L. | 18 | 24 |
P.E.I. | 24 | 29 |
N.S. | 27 | 26 |
N.B. | 20 | 30 |
Que. | 27 | 24 |
Ont. | 33 | 29 |
Man. | 27 | 23 |
Sask. | 24 | 19 |
Alta. | 29 | 22 |
B.C. | 31 | 23 |
Y.T. | 30 | 26 |
N.W.T. | 23 | 23 |
Nvt. | 15 | 17 |
Sources: Table A.1.1, Table A.1.3. and Education at a Glance 2016:OECD indicators. |
- Among OECD countries 8% of 25- to 64-year-olds, on average, had completed college programs in 2015, far fewer than the 26% reported for Canada. This number reflects Canada’s well-developed college sector.
- The corresponding OECD average for university (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral or equivalent) was 28%, just under Canada’s average of 30%.
- Within Canada, university attainment ranged from 15% in Nunavut to 33% in Ontario. For college, the numbers range from 17% in Nunavut to 30% in New Brunswick. Both educational sectors are strong in all jurisdictions.
Generational differences in tertiary attainment
Data table for Chart A.1.4
25 to 34 | 55 to 64 | |
---|---|---|
percent | ||
JPN | 60 | 38 |
ITA | 25 | 12 |
FRA | 45 | 22 |
DEU | 30 | 26 |
GBR | 49 | 35 |
USA | 47 | 41 |
OECD | 42 | 26 |
CAN | 59 | 46 |
N.L. | 52 | 32 |
P.E.I. | 62 | 44 |
N.S. | 63 | 42 |
N.B. | 60 | 37 |
Que. | 55 | 40 |
Ont. | 67 | 52 |
Man. | 52 | 44 |
Sask. | 46 | 35 |
Alta. | 53 | 43 |
B.C. | 55 | 46 |
Y.T. | 57 | 53 |
N.W.T. | 46 | 40 |
Nvt. | 27 | 40 |
Source: Table A.1.3. and Education at a Glance 2016: OECD indicators. |
- Younger people had a higher level of educational attainment than their older counterparts in Canada and other OECD countries. This was also true in virtually all of the provinces and territories. In addition, Canada’s level of tertiary attainment among the older and younger generations was higher than the OECD average.
- The largest difference in tertiary attainment between the older and younger age groups was in New Brunswick, where the younger age group had an attainment rate 22 percentage points above that of the older age group. The smallest difference was in the Yukon, with a difference of four percentage points between the age groups.
- A different pattern was seen in Nunavut, where the proportion of adults with a tertiary credential was higher among the older age group.
Trends in attainment levels
Data table for Chart A.1.5
2005 | 2015 | |
---|---|---|
percent | ||
JPN | 53 | 60 |
ITA | 16 | 25 |
FRA | 40 | 45 |
DEU | 22 | 30 |
GBR | 35 | 49 |
USA | 39 | 47 |
OECD | 32 | 42 |
CAN | 54 | 59 |
N.L. | 43 | 52 |
P.E.I. | 57 | 62 |
N.S. | 52 | 63 |
N.B. | 50 | 60 |
Que. | 55 | 55 |
Ont. | 59 | 67 |
Man. | 46 | 52 |
Sask. | 40 | 46 |
Alta. | 47 | 53 |
B.C. | 48 | 55 |
Y.T. | 39 | 57 |
N.W.T. | 47 | 46 |
Nvt. | 26 | 27 |
Source: Table A.1.4. and Education at a Glance 2016: OECD indicators. |
- Between 2005 and 2015, the proportion of the 25-34-year-old Canadians that had attained tertiary education increased by 5 percentage points (from 54% to 59%). During the same period, the proportion of the same age group in OECD countries on average increased from 32 to 42 percent with the smallest increase in France (5 percentage points) and the largest in the United Kingdom (14 percentage points).
Definitions, sources and methodology
This indicator examines educational attainment among Canada’s adult population aged 25 to 64, by age group and sex. It presents a portrait of the situation in 2015, but also shows the evolution since 2005.
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-2011) (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, as well as an individual who has undertaken some postsecondary education but who has not obtained a credential at that level, is considered to have attained ISCED level 3 (upper secondary education); a student who has not successfully completed secondary school is considered to have obtained ISCED level 2 (lower secondary education).
The 2015 information presented for Canada on population and educational attainment is based on data from the LFS, which surveys approximately 56,000 households every month.Note 3 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 “short-cycle tertiary education”. LFS data reported for the Canadian population that has attained ISCED level 5 (short-cycle tertiary education) 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 (Post-secondary non-tertiary education).
In Statistics Canada’s LFS the master’s or equivalent and doctors or equivalent levels cannot be cannot be identified separately; therefore, educational attainment in the ISCED 7 and 8 (Master’s or equivalent and doctoral or equivalent) categories are combined.
Note: The corresponding OECD indicator is A1, To what level have adults studied?
Tables for A1 Educational attainment of the adult population
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 share of graduates under 25 years of age among all graduates is also presented.
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 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 the normal duration of an upper secondary education program (on-time graduation). In Canada, this period would be equivalent to Grades 10 to 12, or, in Quebec, Grades 9 to 11.
Observations
Data table for Chart A.2.1
Canada, provinces, territories and OECD | Both sexes | Females | Males |
---|---|---|---|
percent | |||
FIN | 97 | 100 | 94 |
JPN | 97 | 98 | 96 |
KOR | 95 | 94 | 95 |
ITA | 93 | 94 | 92 |
DEU | 91 | 90 | 92 |
USA | 82 | 85 | 79 |
OECD | 85 | 88 | 83 |
Can. | 86 | 89 | 84 |
N.L. | 81 | 82 | 79 |
P.E.I. | 84 | 87 | 80 |
N.S. | 86 | 86 | 85 |
N.B. | 86 | 89 | 83 |
Que. | 95 | 99 | 92 |
Ont. | 89 | 92 | 86 |
Man. | 77 | 79 | 76 |
Sask. | 78 | 83 | 73 |
Alta. | 73 | 76 | 71 |
B.C. | 81 | 86 | 77 |
Y.T. | 67 | 69 | 65 |
N.W.T. | 66 | 75 | 58 |
Nvt. | 31 | 35 | 27 |
Note: The most recent data available for Canada and jurisdictions are for 2014, reflecting reports for the 2013/2014 academic year. Countries other than Canada are ranked in descending order and include the G-7 group of countries. Data are not available for the U.K. and France. Finland is included due to their high ranking in the Programme for International Student Assessment (P.I.S.A.). Source: Table A.2.1., Education at a Glance 2016: OECD Indicators, Table A2.1, Upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary graduatuation rates (2014) |
Upper secondary graduation rates
- Canada’s high school (“upper secondary”) graduation rate was 86% in 2014.Note 4 The majority of other OECD member countries reported graduation rates of at least 80%. Countries with higher graduation rates included Finland and Japan (97%), Korea (95%), Italy (93%) and Germany (91%). Graduation rates for the United States (82%) and the OECD average (85%) were both lower than that of Canada.
Graduation rates higher for females
- In Canada in 2014, the high school graduation rate for females was higher (89%) than that for males (84%), and was almost the same as the OECD averages for females and males (88% vs 83%). Germany and Korea were the only countries in the OECD whose graduation rates were higher for males than for females (2 and 1 percentage points higher).
Successful completion of upper secondary programmes
Data table for Chart A.2.2
Canada, provinces, territories and OECD | Both sexes | Females | Males |
---|---|---|---|
percent | |||
Can. | 76 | 80 | 73 |
N.L. | 81 | 85 | 79 |
P.E.I. | 81 | 86 | 77 |
N.S. | 83 | 84 | 82 |
N.B. | 84 | 87 | 81 |
Que. | 62 | 69 | 55 |
Ont. | 84 | 87 | 82 |
Man. | 76 | 78 | 75 |
Sask. | 70 | 73 | 67 |
Alta. | 73 | 76 | 70 |
B.C. | 77 | 79 | 75 |
Y.T. | 67 | 70 | 65 |
N.W.T. | 37 | 39 | 35 |
Nvt. | 17 | 19 | 14 |
Notes: 15- to 18-year-olds in Quebec. The most recent data available for Canada and jurisdictions are for 2014, reflecting reports for the 2013/2014 academic year. Source: Table A.2.2. |
- Over three quarters of students (76%) in Canada completed high school within the three-year period typically covered by upper secondary education.Note 5
- The proportion of students who completed their education in the expected time varied considerably across the country: from 17% in Nunavut to 84% in New Brunswick and Ontario.
- The successful on-time completion of upper secondary programmes was higher for females than for their male counterparts in all provinces and territories. For the provinces, the lowest female-male gap was in Nova Scotia at two percentage points while the highest was in Quebec at 14 percentage points. At the Canada level the difference was 7 percentage points.
Definitions, sources and methodology
This indicator presents net upper secondary graduation rates without duplication (i.e., first-time graduates) by sex. It also presents successful completion of upper secondary programmes of a proxy cohort in public schools.
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 6
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. Rates without duplication only count individuals who had obtained, during a given year, a diploma at this level for the first time.Note 7 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 2013/2014 school year; the OECD averages also reflect 2013/2014. 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 8 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 2013/2014 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 Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada), were also added to the number of public and private school graduates and included in the calculation of the upper secondary graduation rates presented.
Population estimates used in the denominator of the graduation rate calculation cover the entire population, including Aboriginal people, as of January 1, 2014.
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 graduates (15- to 18-year-olds in Quebec) in 2013/2014 by the number of Grade 10 (3e secondaire in Quebec) enrolments recorded three years earlier (i.e., in 2011/2012). 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 2011 (which represents the Grade 10 students) by the 17- to 18-year-old population in 2014 (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 2011 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 2015 by the OECD.
Note: The corresponding OECD indicator is A2, How many students are expected to complete upper secondary education?
Tables for A2 Upper secondary graduation
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 by age group (25 to 34 and 55 to 64). 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 9
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.
Observations
Employment rates by attainment
Data table for Chart A.3.1
Highest level of education attained | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Below Upper secondary | Lower secondary | Upper secondary | Short cycle tertiary | Bachelor's or equivalent | Master's and doctoral levels or equivalent | |
percent | ||||||
Men (OECD) | 66 | 69 | 81 | 87 | 87 | Note ..: not available for a specific reference period |
Women (OECD) | 46 | 49 | 66 | 75 | 78 | Note ..: not available for a specific reference period |
Men (Canada) | 63 | 66 | 77 | 85 | 87 | 86 |
Women (Canada) | 45 | 49 | 64 | 78 | 79 | 81 |
.. not available for a specific reference period Sources: Table A.3.1. and Education at a Glance 2016: OECD Indicators. |
- Employment rates rose with levels of educational attainment both in Canada and at the OECD average.
- In Canada and for the OECD average, women had consistently lower employment rates than men.
- This gender gap in employment rates in Canada was largest (18 percentage points) among those with the least education and smallest (8 percentage points) among the men and women with bachelor’s or equivalent educationNote 10. This was also true at the OECD average, with a larger gap between men and women at the below upper secondary level (20 percentage points) and a smaller gap at the bachelor’s or equivalent (9 percentage points).
Data table for Chart A.3.2
Below upper secondary | Upper secondary education | Postsecondary non-tertiary | Tertiary | |
---|---|---|---|---|
percent | ||||
FRA | 54 | 73 | 59 | 84 |
DEU | 59 | 79 | 85 | 88 |
ITA | 50 | 70 | 74 | 79 |
GBR | 59 | 84 | Note ..: not available for a specific reference period | 86 |
USA | 55 | 69 | .. | 81 |
OECD | 56 | 74 | 79 | 84 |
CAN | 55 | 71 | 80 | 82 |
N.L. | 42 | 63 | 70 | 78 |
P.E.I. | 60 | 71 | 76 | 82 |
N.S. | 51 | 68 | 71 | 80 |
N.B. | 50 | 70 | 73 | 81 |
Que. | 54 | 70 | 79 | 82 |
Ont. | 52 | 69 | 78 | 82 |
Man. | 60 | 77 | 83 | 84 |
Sask. | 64 | 78 | 84 | 85 |
Alta. | 65 | 76 | 85 | 83 |
B.C. | 57 | 70 | 80 | 79 |
Y.T. | 67 | 78 | 78 | 85 |
N.W.T. | 58 | 74 | 87 | 90 |
Nvt. | 47 | 70 | 67 | 86 |
.. not available for a specific reference period Note: The markers representing Canada and the OECD are enlarged and without colour to make them easier to find. Sources: Table A.3.1, Table A.3.2. and Education at a Glance 2016: OECD Indicators. |
- Employment rates also rose with levels of educational attainment across all provinces, territories, G7 countries and at the OECD average. However, the magnitude and the nature of the educational advantage varied among the Canadian jurisdictions.
- Although tertiary graduates generally had the highest employment rates in 2015, this was not true in Alberta and British Columbia, where those with postsecondary non-tertiary had slightly higher employment rates.
- Employment rates for Canadians with tertiary education were comparable to those of G7 countries, with Canada’s employment rate being slightly higher than the US or Italy, but lower than that of France, Germany and the United Kingdom.
- Employment rates for Canadians with less than upper secondary education ranged widely across the country, with rates that were significantly lower than the Canadian and OECD averages in Newfoundland and Labrador and Nunavut, but significantly higher than both the Canada and OECD averages and in other G7 countries in the Yukon, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Employment rates by attainment, 2005 and 2015
Data table for Chart A.3.3
2005 | 2015 | |
---|---|---|
percent | ||
Below upper secondary (25-34) |
62 | 57 |
Upper secondary (25-34) |
78 | 73 |
Postsecondary non-tertiary (25-34) |
86 | 87 |
Tertiary (25-34) |
85 | 84 |
Below upper secondary (55-64) |
41 | 49 |
Upper secondary (55-64) |
56 | 58 |
Postsecondary non-tertiary (55-64) |
60 | 63 |
Tertiary (55-64) |
62 | 66 |
Sources: Table A.3.3.2 and A.3.3.3 |
- Employment rates decreased for young Canadians aged 25-34 with lower levels of education between 2005 and 2015. In 2015, 73% of young adults with upper secondary were employed versus 78% for this same age group in 2005.
- This was not true for young adults with postsecondary non-tertiary or tertiary education, as between the two time periods, employment rates were more similar.
- In Canada, for 55-64-year-olds, the employment rate was higher in 2015 at every level of education than the rate observed in 2005 indicating that the older generation increasingly postponed retirement and continued working beyond age 55. For most of the OECD countries the employment rate did not change for this age group during the same time period.
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, by sex, and by age group. It also 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 with the particular level of educational attainment is divided by the total number of persons in the population aged 25 to 64 who have attained that 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). The education level is measured according to the highest level of schooling completed.
The 2015 data for Canada and its provinces and territories were drawn from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), which surveys approximately 56,000 households every month.Note 11 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 A5, How does educational attainment affect participation in the labour market?
Tables for A3 Labour market outcomes
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