Economic and Social Reports, February 2021

Released: 2021-02-24

The February 2021 issue of Economic and Social Reports contains four articles.

The article "Workers' responses to job loss when employment opportunities are scarce" provides insight into how workers laid off during the COVID-19 pandemic might adjust by examining the way workers responded to 2009 job losses following the 2008-2009 recession.

In 2010, between 4% and 6% of laid-off workers entered postsecondary education. Close to 6% changed economic regions from the year prior to job loss (2008) to the year following job loss (2010). Slightly more than 4% moved into unincorporated self-employment in 2010. In contrast, no more than 1% started a registered apprenticeship. The use of these strategies varied by worker characteristics.

International students earn less than Canadians after graduation

Securing a good paying job could be more difficult for international students graduating from Canadian institutions compared with Canadian students. Results in the article "Early earnings trajectories of international students after graduation from postsecondary programs" show that international students who graduated from 2010 to 2012 earned 11% less in the first year after graduation than students with Canadian citizenship and 12% less five years after graduation.

The earnings gap in the first year after graduation was particularly large among those with a master's degree (40%) and doctoral degree (35%). These gaps decreased to 26% and 10%, respectively, in the fifth year after graduation. Field of study was also a factor.

This disadvantage could be because international students were much less likely to gain work experience before graduation than were students with Canadian citizenship. About 44% of international students had no Canadian work experience before graduation, compared with 2% of students with Canadian citizenship. Limited years of residence in Canada, language proficiency, cultural differences, academic performance, and employers' inability to recruit and train job applicants with temporary residency status may all be factors in international students' having less pre-graduation work experience. In addition, some government programs that help Canadian students gain paid work experience are not available to international students.

Measuring digital intensification and its impact on Canadian economy

The two articles titled "Economic performance associated with digitalization in Canada over the past two decades" and "Measuring digital intensity in the Canadian economy", present results from a new index that measures the impact of digital intensification in the Canadian economy. For more information on these reports, please refer to the Daily release "Study: Measuring digital intensity and its impact on the Canadian economy".

Products

The February 2021 issue of Economic and Social Reports, Vol. 1, no. 2 (36-28-0001) is now available. This issue contains the articles "Economic performance associated with digitalization in Canada over the past two decades," "Workers' responses to job loss when employment opportunities are scarce," "Measuring digital intensity in the Canadian economy" and "Early earnings trajectories of international students after graduation from postsecondary programs."

Contact information

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