Overview
Overview of the longitudinal employee and business analytical files
Products and applications
List of analytical files and examples of applications using the longitudinal employee and business analytical files
Getting started
Different ways to access and use our data for your own research project
Statistics Canada has leveraged business and employee administrative data to develop several longitudinal and linkable data files for comprehensive longitudinal analysis. In addition to integrating information from multiple data sources, these files also include a range of analytical variables derived from Statistics Canada’s own research, proven to be suitable for research purposes.
Linkages with these analytical files provide a multi-sourced perspective on worker and firm dynamics, enabling detailed analysis of labour market trends, firm behaviour, innovation, and productivity to support evidence-based policy and economic research. Innovative linkage from various sources expands the potential of existing data to address the analytical needs for longitudinal information and enables researchers to tackle complex research questions.
Overview
Over recent decades, Statistics Canada has leveraged business and employee administrative data to develop several longitudinal and linkable data files for comprehensive longitudinal analysis. Key initiatives include linking individual and firm data through the Canadian Employer–Employee Dynamics Database, the Longitudinal Worker File, the Intergenerational Income Database and Business Research Microdata.
Advantages of longitudinal employee and business analytical files
In addition to integrating information from multiple data sources, these files also include derived analytical variables based on Statistics Canada’s own research. Examples include indicators for temporary and permanent job separation, firm-level value added and labour productivity measures, innovation and patenting activities, import and export activities, and business ownership and workforce diversity measures.
Linkages with these analytical files provide a multi-sourced perspective on worker and firm dynamics, enabling detailed analysis of labour market trends, firm behaviour, innovation, and productivity to support evidence-based policy and economic research. Other advantages include the following:
- Longitudinal analysis: Workers and firms can be linked over time, enabling the study of changes in employment patterns, workforce demographics and economic outcomes, and providing insights into productivity, mobility and the impacts of policies.
- Comprehensive matching: Firm and employee records can be linked, facilitating comprehensive analysis that improves the understanding of labour market dynamics. These administrative linkable files are a cost-effective means for generating data that are more frequent and responsive, that are disaggregated at subpopulation and geographic levels, and that have the capacity to detect multidimensional social and economic phenomena that are invisible in single sources of data. The complex information needs of policy makers also require a holistic view of interrelated issues across domains.
- Analytical value added: Linkages not only provide comprehensive information from multiple sources, but also include a range of analytical variables derived from Statistics Canada's own research, proven to be highly suitable for research purposes. This saves researchers the effort of deriving these variables themselves—a task that may sometimes be impossible because of access limitations to the necessary data.
For information on how microdata linkage works, please visit Microdata Linkage.
Privacy and confidentiality
Statistics Canada does not release any information that identifies an individual, a household, a business or an agricultural operation without their consent, or as authorized by the Statistics Act (Privacy and confidentiality). Final results are carefully screened before release to prevent published statistics from being used to derive information.
For more information, please visit the Statistics Canada Trust Centre.
Products and applications
With the integration and development of analytical files from different sources and domains, annual processing was used to construct different linkable analytical files for employees and businesses to support the following analytical platforms.
List of analytical platforms
- Canadian Employer–Employee Dynamics Database
- Business–Employee Analytical Microdata
- Longitudinal Worker File
- Intergenerational Income Database
- Business Research Microdata
Applying linked analytical files in research
These data files have been used extensively to address a range of important research questions, contributing to a deeper understanding of the Canadian economy and Canadian society.
- Labour market: The Canadian labour market undergoes continuous shocks, influenced by technological shifts, globalization and automation. These changes can impact the nature of work and employer–employee relationships and influence wage growth through bargaining power, and the linked employer–employee data support analysis related to these changes. For example:
- Immigration: These files have enhanced the understanding of immigrants’ contributions to the Canadian economy. For instance, they help examine how immigrant entrepreneurs differ from their Canadian-born counterparts in terms of business activities. Do immigrant-owned firms create more jobs? Are they more likely to import goods from their countries of origin? How productive are immigrant-owned businesses, compared with those owned by Canadian-born individuals? For example:
- Inequality: Using these files, researchers have decomposed income inequality into within-firm and between-firm components to explore the sources of inequality and the role firms play in shaping it. Intergenerational income mobility in Canada is another important research topic that has been investigated with the innovative use of data from the Intergenerational Income Database. For example:
- Understanding Developments in Individuals’ Earnings Dispersion in Canada Using Matched Employer–Employee Data
- Decomposing the Between-firm Employment Earnings Dispersion in the Canadian Business Sector: The Role of Firm Characteristics
- Intergenerational income mobility in Canada: Research highlights from two recent studies
- Business ownership: Understanding the diversity of Canada’s business sector is crucial. These files have supported the identification of business ownership among groups such as women, immigrants, Indigenous people and Black Canadians, contributing to Statistics Canada’s efforts to address disaggregated data gaps. For example:
- Innovation and patenting: Innovation is vital for Canada’s competitiveness and productivity. These files have enabled the study of patenting activities in relation to business performance, providing insights into women inventors and the performance of women-owned businesses engaged in patenting. For example:
- Global comparisons: These files also facilitate international studies, such as those conducted by the Global Repository of Income Dynamics project and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), as well as collaboration with the OECD LinkEED 2.0 projects, helping to uncover global trends in income dynamics and improving the understanding of how public policies support inclusive growth.
Statistics Canada's Common Output Data Repository data tables that use information extracted from the longitudinal employee and business analytical files
- The Monthly Business Openings and Closures program provides timely information on business openings and closures in Canada, the provinces and territories, and census metropolitan areas by firm size.
- Updated annual estimates of the total counts and T4 earnings of interjurisdictional employees in Canada are available for each jurisdiction and disaggregated by North American Industry Classification System code, age and sex (Estimates of interjurisdictional employment in Canada by province and territory, 2002 to 2020).
Getting started
Statistics Canada recognizes that data users require access to microdata at the business, household or personal level for research purposes. To encourage the use of microdata, Statistics Canada offers a wide range of access solutions through a series of online channels, facilities and programs for data users, while at the same time protecting the privacy and confidentiality of respondents. There are several ways users can access longitudinal employee and business analytical files, including viewing existing data tables (see the list in the products and applications section), accessing confidential microdata or requesting customized products.
Access to confidential microdata
Because of the complexity of linked data and the need to maintain confidentiality requirements, longitudinal employee and business data files are not available as public use microdata files or through Real Time Remote Access. External policy and academic researchers can access the longitudinal employee and business analytical files (list of analytical files) as deemed employees with approved research projects through various secure solutions, including research data centres (RDCs). Details on the data access application can be found in the RDC application process and guidelines. Access by deemed employees is subject to Statistics Canada legal and policy requirements, particularly the Directive on the Use of Deemed Employees.
Data access for academic data users
RDCs are located on university campuses across Canada and are staffed by Statistics Canada employees. These centres are accessible to accredited data users affiliated with the hosting organization.
Launching in 2025, the virtual RDC will provide a modern virtual infrastructure that gives academic researchers secure access to Statistics Canada microdata through a partnership with the Canadian Research Data Centre Network. Qualifying data users will have access to data within secure RDC facilities, as well as from other "authorized workspaces" (e.g., a home or an office location).
All data output is vetted for confidentiality by Statistics Canada employees prior to being released to data users.
Data access for government data users
The Federal Research Data Centre (FRDC) provides federal, provincial and municipal government employees and data users from non-governmental organizations and the private sector with a secure environment to access confidential microdata. The physical FRDC is located in the National Capital Region.
Accredited FRDC users with approved eligible microdata research projects can access confidential microdata remotely, in authorized workspaces, via the Virtual Data Lab. Fees for access vary depending on the project.
All data output is vetted for confidentiality by Statistics Canada employees prior to being released to data users.
Request for customized products
Statistics Canada also offers a variety of customized products and services to meet information needs, which include custom data, tabulation and analysis (some can be completed only as cost-recovery projects).
To learn more, please contact analyticalstudies-etudesanalytiques@statcan.gc.ca.