Human Resources
What is the labour force?

1. The labour force is everyone 15 years of age and older who are
working or is considered to be seeking employment.

2. People who are self-employed are part of the labour force.

3. People who collect unemployment benefits (U.I.C.) are part of the
labour force as they are considered to be seeking employment.

4. People on strike, sick leave, maternity leave or vacation are also
part of the labour force.
Who are not considered part of the
labour force?


People who are not considered to be part of
the labour force are those who are:
a) less than 15 years of age
b) retired;
c) in the air forces
d) full time students
e) homemakers
f) volunteer works
g) living on Indian reserves or in the territories
h) welfare recipients
Labor Statistics
Employment Groups by Age
Unemployment Rates by Province
Regional Population
Wages
Education
Job Market Outlook
What is unemployment?

The unemployed are those who are without
work but who are considered to be actively
seeking work.
What is the unemployment rate?

The unemployment rate is the percentage
of the labour force that is unemployed. For
example there are 10 million people in the
labour force and there are one million
unemployed people, the unemployment
rate is 10 percent.
Unemployment rate=1 million/10 million *
100 = 10%
What is the participation rate?

The participation rate is the percentage of
the population 15 years of age and over
that is in the labour force.
Participation rate = 10 million / 15 million *
100 = 66.6%
What are the different types of
unemployment?

There are four types of unemployment:
a) seasonal unemployment, which is the
loss of jobs due to seasonal conditions (ski
hill operators)

b) structural unemployment, which is the
loss of jobs due to new technology (robots
replacing assembly line workers)

c) cyclical unemployment, which is the loss
of jobs due to a recession or depression;

d) frictional unemployment, which is the
loss of a job temporarily due to the time it
takes to get a new job
What can be done to combat
unemployment?

Government use several measures to
combat unemployment:

a) giving subsidies to businesses;

b) educating and retraining workers

c) spending on public works

d) giving equalization payments to regions
with high unemployment.
What influences the cost of labour?

a) the supply and demand of labour

b) the levels of education, training, skill,
experience and responsibility of workers;

c) gender; women are often paid less than
men, but this is slowly changing;

d) unionization; union members tend to receive better
salaries and benefits than workers who are not unionized

e) governments; which can maintain or improve salaries and
benefits through legislation (minimum wage);

f) the geographic isolation, danger or unpleasantness of a job
can increase wages.