Revising the National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 Version 1.0 to NOC 2026 Version 1.0

What we Asked, What we Learned and What we Did

October 2025

Introduction

In September 2021 the NOC 2021 Version 1.0 was released. The NOC for 2026 will be released in December of 2026.The NOC is jointly developed by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and Statistics Canada (StatCan) and has been maintained in partnership since the first edition published in 1991/1992. Revision proposals are analyzed by internal working groups within StatCan and ESDC as part of our interdepartmental revision working group process.

The purpose of the NOC is primarily to provide a standardized framework to support consistent statistical information on Canadian occupations. It is accessorily used for employment-related program administration and for compiling, analyzing, and communicating occupational information, such as labour market data.

The NOC organizes the world of work—performed for pay or profit—into a manageable, understandable, and coherent system.

Revising the NOC 2021 Version 1.0

In line with good statistical practice, the NOC is reviewed and revised periodically to reflect changes in the labour market, ensuring continued relevance and accuracy. For the NOC, major revisions – which cover both "real changes" and "virtual changes" – are planned on a 10-year cycle. While "real changes" affect the scope of classification items and/or categories, and therefore impact the data collected and disseminated, "virtual changes" are meant only to capture job titles and clarifying existing descriptions. The release of NOC 2021 Version 1.0 marked a significant revision aligned with this 10-year cycle.

In addition to the 10-year cycle, a 5-year "virtual change" cycle is in place to support improved coding and understanding of occupational classifications. In exceptional cases, when there is consensus between StatCan and ESDC, both real and virtual changes may occur outside the regular revision cycles.

For the upcoming release of NOC 2026, a consensus was reached between Statistics Canada and ESDC to introduce real changes outside the standard 10-year cycle – this marks a first attempt to enhance responsiveness to labour market shifts between revision cycles. The NOC 2026 will include real changes aimed at improving data collectability and reportability. Following its release, both organizations will assess the feasibility of incorporating real changes into the regular 5-year revision cycle moving forward.

In January 2024, Statistics Canada's Social Standards Steering Committee (SSSC) approved a permanent consultation process for the NOC. Proposals for changes can now be submitted and reviewed on an ongoing basis. A cut-off date for considering proposed changes for inclusion in a new version of the NOC will be posted well in advance.

The NOC consultation webpage was launched in April 2024. For NOC 2026 Version 1.0, the cut-off date for submissions was set as November 15, 2024.

What we asked

The consultation aimed to gather input from NOC users on potential revisions. Proposed changes could encompass any element of the classification, including the structure of the classification, definitions, and details such as the main duties, employment requirements, examples and exclusions attached to unit groups.

In addition to internal feedback from StatCan's and ESDC's NOC working groups, organisations and individuals were invited to submit proposals. Some participated in workshops to provide additional input focused on the following occupational categories:

  • Health care Services
  • Childcare and community services
  • Applied Sciences
  • Law, education, social, community and government services
  • Food and Beveridge services
  • Transportation officers and controllers
  • Agriculture
  • Forestry and forest firefighting services

Community input was also sought to update Indigenous occupation titles and duty descriptions.

Engagement and Outreach activities included:

  • Posting the NOC 2026 Version 1.0 consultation notice on:
  • Public consultation period at StatCan: April to November 2024.
  • ESDC maintained an invitation-based submission process since the release of the NOC 2021.
  • StatCan focal points such as provincial/territorial statistical departments as well as occupation and labour market related organizations and associations were also invited to provide feedback.
  • Feedback was gathered through:
    • Public submissions
    • Meetings with organizations, associations and unions
    • Ad hoc submissions via ESDC and StatCan inboxes
    • Internal StatCan working group with subject matter experts and methodologists using the NOC.

What we learned

The interdepartmental NOC working group received over 150 change requests from:

  • All levels of government
  • Businesses
  • Sector councils
  • Industry and professional bodies/associations
  • Unions
  • Academics
  • Individuals

Overview of proposed changes

Feedback included both virtual (content only) and real (data impacted) changes. These proposed revisions reflect the evolution of existing occupations and the emergence of new ones.

Proposed virtual changes included:

  • Improving occupation descriptions
  • Adding job titles
  • Revising main duties
  • Clarifying and updating employment requirements

Proposed real changes included:

  • Creating new unit groups
  • Transferring items between unit groups

Some proposals fell outside the scope of statistical classification principles, such as:

  • Adding occupational groups to create career paths between TEER (Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities) levels

Proposed changes grouped by Broad Occupational Categories (BOC)

The NOC includes ten Broad Occupational Categories (BOCs), representing the highest level of the classification system and numbered from 0 to 9. Each BOC is defined by a combination of the type of work performed, the field of study, and the industry of employment.

Broad Occupational Categories Percentage of proposed changes
BOC 0 - Legislative and senior management occupations
This broad category comprises legislators and senior management occupations.		 4%
BOC 1 - Business, finance and administration occupations
This broad category comprises specialized middle management managers and occupations in administrative services, financial and business services and communication (except broadcasting).		 12%
BOC 2 - Natural and applied sciences and related occupations
This broad category comprises occupations in natural sciences (including basic and applied sciences and experimental development), engineering, architecture and information technology.		 15%
BOC 3 - Health occupations
This broad category comprises specialized middle management managers and occupations in health care, health care services and support to health services.		 11%
BOC 4 - Occupations in education, law and social, community and government services
This broad category comprises managers in public administration and occupations concerned with law, social and community services, public protection services and teaching.		 22%
BOC 5 - Occupations in art, culture, recreation and sport
This broad category comprises specialized middle management managers, professional, technical and support occupations in art, culture, recreation and sport.		 8%
BOC 6 - Sales and service occupations
This broad category comprises middle management managers and sales and service occupations in wholesale and retail trade, and customer services.		 8%
BOC 7 - Trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations
This broad category comprises middle management managers and occupations in trades, transportation and equipment.		 5%
BOC 8 - Natural resources, agriculture and related production occupations
This broad category comprises middle management managers and occupations in natural resources, agriculture and related production.		 5%
BOC 9 - Occupations in manufacturing and utilities
This broad category comprises middle management managers and occupations in manufacturing and utilities.		 8%

What we did

Following good practices, all changes implemented in our classifications are guided by statistical classification principles and conceptsFootnote 1, including the documentation of types of changes aligned with the General Statistical Information Model (GSIM). These principles form the foundation for developing, implementing, and revising statistical classifications.

Stakeholders and public recommendations are assessed using the same rigorous standards. To support a thorough evaluation, the NOC team and working group require detailed information demonstrating alignment with the key classification principles. While changes are typically drafted to minimize disruption to existing data structures, disruptive changes are implemented when justified to maintain the integrity and relevance of the classification.

This approach applies to:

  • Revising existing groupings or groups
  • Creation of new groups
  • Movement or placement of groups within the classification structure
  • General content updates.

We reviewed stakeholder submissions and conducted follow-up meetings when additional information was required or requested. Revisions to the NOC for 2026 reflect the collaborative efforts and insights of stakeholders and working group members, ensuring the classification remains relevant, responsive to user needs and accurately represents the evolving Canadian labour market.

What changes

A total of 165 unit groups were impacted by real and virtual changes.

  • 18 unit groups underwent real (structural) changes, in addition to virtual changes

Real changes included:

  • Creation of new unit groups affecting BOC 4 and BOC 6
  • Splits-offs (existing item split-off to emerging group) affecting BOC 1, BOC 4 and BOC 6
  • Take-overs (item expires and moved to existing group(s) affecting BOC 6
  • Transfers (item moved between unit groups) affecting BOC 1, BOC 2, BOC 3, BOC 4, BOC 5, BOC 6, and BOC 8

Certain aspects of the classification were revised to better align with available data and reporting practices. However, the extent of changes was limited by data granularity, as further disaggregation would have resulted in non-reportable or suppressed data due to confidentiality or quality concerns.

For example,

  • Modifications were made to improve coherence with observed data trends, though some potential refinements were not feasible due to limitations in data availability at more detailed levels.
  • The classification was adjusted where possible, balancing analytical needs with the constraints of data reporting.
  • Updates reflect a compromise between ideal classification structure and practical reporting limitations, particularly where finer breakdowns would compromise data reliability or confidentiality.

Although most changes occur at the 5th level (unit groups) of the NOC – the most detailed level of the classification – updates at this level also affect higher levels of the classification. A full overview of changes across all levels will be available in the NOC 2021v1.0 to NOC 2026V1.0 correspondence table, to be released in December 2026.

The remaining 147 unit groups were subject to virtual (content-only) changes aimed at improving clarity and maintaining occupational relevancy. These updates included:

  • Revised titles and/or definitions
  • New, revised or suppressed example job titles
  • Updates to definitions, lead statements, main duties, employment requirements and exclusions.

Virtual changes affecting all BOCs:

  • Improved occupation descriptions and titles
    • Example: The unit group title and lead statement for 21211 – Data Scientists were updated to clarify the appropriate coding for data analysts.
  • Addition of job titles
    • Example: A specific surveying technologist title was added to 22213 - Land survey technologists and technicians to better guide coding within this unit group.
  • Revision of main duties
    • Example: The main duties, and employment requirements for 11100 – Financial Auditors and Accountants were revised to more accurately reflect the regulated title and responsibilities of Chartered Professional Accountants.
  • Clarification and update of employment requirements
    • Example: The employment requirements for 31202 – Physiotherapists were revised to clarify the necessary degree and credential requirements.

Appendix: Governing principles and underlying concepts and criteria

Statistical Classification Principles

Principle 1: Follow internationally accepted definitions and guidelines on how to classify occupations and jobs as a statistical unit (also see National Occupational Classification - Introduction). Because the purpose of the NOC is primarily to provide a framework to support consistent statistical information on Canadian occupations, it is important to specify the scope of each category in the classification. By following standard definitions and coding practices, Principle 1 support consistent and sound statistics to be produced and disseminated. The NOC team and working group uses this information to evaluate whether proposed changes are properly placed in the classification structure.

Principle 2: Respect of the internationally recognized statistical classification principles, being:

  • well defined universe: categories at each level of the classification structure must reflect a well-defined universe or scope;
  • classification is exhaustive: it covers all possible elements in the universe even if all examples of such universe are not provided in the publication;
  • categories are mutually exclusive: no overlapping in the scope of each classification item or category (to avoid double counting);
  • classification structure is hierarchical: lower categories are dependent of their higher categories;
  • classification structure is rectangular: the classification has a code represented at every level across its whole structure, regardless of the scope of each category;
  • classification is comparable to other classifications (of the same domain);
  • classification categories are empirically significant;
  • classification is organized around one or few concepts (e.g., job; occupation);
  • classification contains groupings meaningful to users;
  • classification is widely adopted.

Principle 3: the classification is related to data that is collectible and publishable (collectability and reportability): whether data can be collected and reported on the occupational grouping. For a detailed occupation to be included in the NOC and expecting statistics to come out of it, Statistics Canada must be able to collect and report data, otherwise, categories will not provide opportunities to produce relevant statistics. Statistics Canada is responsible for producing data across the entire range of occupations in Canada and conducts comprehensive surveys that collect occupation and labour market data.

Collectability and reportability are partly a function of the size of the occupational grouping and other measure of empirical significance (meaning the occupation must be large enough to be detected in sample of surveys). In evaluating collectability and reportability, however, the NOC team and working group will not use a specific occupation size cut-off. This is because occupations that are concentrated in certain industries or geographic areas may be collectable and reportable, while occupations of similar or larger size that are spread throughout the economy may not be collectable and reportable. Therefore, size is not the only consideration in collectability and reportability. Collectability and reportability are also related to the type of data collection used by surveys or statistical programs.

Principle 4: the classification supports the maintenance of time series continuity to the extent possible; that is, the ability to maintain data series over time without interruption due to classification changes. To the extent possible, new occupational categories proposed for the current version of the NOC and beyond should be easily linked by appropriate correspondence to previous version the NOC (e.g., NOC 2021 to NOC 2016 and NOC 2016 to NOC 2011).

Guidelines developed by Statistics Canada provided for the launch of the permanent consultation process for the NOC will assist users and the NOC team and working groups in consistently making changes to the NOC.

Principle 5: the classification continues to be relevant, that is, it must be of analytical interest, result in data useful to users, and be based on appropriate statistical research, subject-matter expertise and administrative relevance aligned with statistical classification principles and needs.

Principle 6: the prevalence of classification principles and statistical needs: the NOC is designed primarily for statistical purposes. Although there can be various uses of the NOC for non-statistical purposes (e.g., for administrative, regulatory, or policy functions), the requirements of government agencies or private users that choose to use the NOC for non-statistical purposes are responsible for such use of the classification. As a result, the NOC team reviews comments and develops its recommendations based on established statistical classification principles and guidelines. Information provided unrelated to the accurate gathering of information for statistical purposes, such as perceived importance or visibility of an occupation, does not determine the NOC team recommendations. Similarly, the volume of comments does not determine what the recommendations will be, and just submitting a request for a change does not automatically result into a change in the NOC.

Underlying Concepts and Classification Criteria of the NOC

The statistical unit

The basic principle of the NOC is the kind of work performed. The statistical unit or object being classified using the NOC is the concept of a "job". A job encompasses all the tasks carried out by a particular person to complete their duties. A job title represents the name given to a job or a position. The term job is used in reference to employment or in self-employment.

An occupation is defined as a collection of jobs, sufficiently similar or identical in work or tasks performed to be grouped under a common label for classification purposes.

The scope of the classification

The scope of the NOC is all occupations and jobs in the Canadian labour market undertaken for pay or profit, including people who are self-employed.

The NOC is not designed to include work or tasks not undertaken for pay or profit, for example, voluntary work. However, a person may complete work not for pay or profit where the tasks completed may be described within some occupational groups.

The Criteria

The structure of the NOC is based on two key criteria:

  1. Broad Occupational Category (BOC): Defined by the type of work performed, the field of study, or the industry of employment—often a combination of these factors.
  2. TEER (Training, Education, Experience, and Responsibilities): Reflects the training (formal and on-the-job), qualifications and responsibilities required to competently perform the tasks associated with an occupation.

These criteria determine the placement of occupations within the classification and guide decisions to merge, split, or create new groupsFootnote 2.

Within unit groups, distinctions between occupations are based on differences in tasks performed. In most cases, all occupations within a unit group share the same TEER level. A split is justified only when the resulting occupations differ significantly in TEER levels and/or have distinct duties, ensuring the principle of mutual exclusiveness is upheld. A merger is justified when labour market changes result in limited ability to collect and report data on an occupation, making it more practical to combine it with another group to maintain statistical integrity and usability.

Date modified: