Employment by occupation

Understanding employment by occupation

What is employment by occupation groups? 

Employment by occupation group shows how workers are distributed across occupation group. This makes it easier to see which occupations workers are in and facilitates comparisons across regions. It is calculated using the National Occupation Classifications (NOC) for those who are currently employed.  

Demand varies across occupations, so the size of an occupation does not indicate a strength or weakness in the labour market. Understanding the distribution of jobs in the labour market gives us a clearer sense of the types of work commonly required. 

What does employment by occupation tell us about imbalances? 

Employment by occupation provides supporting context behind labour market imbalances, illustrating changes in demand for occupations and in which fields over time. It is most useful when viewed over time, compared across regions, or with other indicators such as the vacancy rate. Differences in employment by occupation between regions do not necessarily signal an imbalance; they may simply reflect regional differences in economies. For example, resource-rich regions typically have a larger share of workers in natural resources and agriculture.  

Imbalances may occur when regional demand changes rapidly. For instance, if a region has historically not relied on a natural resource-driven economy but discovers new natural resources and begins developing related infrastructure, demand for workers in natural resource and construction occupations may increase quickly. Looking at employment by occupation can help determine whether the local workforce includes enough young, new workers to meet growing demand.  

Conversely, if demand for natural resources declines in a resource-driven economy with a high proportion of natural-resource workers, labour supply may begin to outpace labour demand. In these situations, indicators such as vacancy and unemployment rates in these regions can help you understand how workers in affected occupations are responding to these changes. 

This example highlights how disaggregating different labour market indicators and combining them with other metrics can enable more complex, regional, and industry-specific analyses of labour market imbalances.  

Table notes

• Employment by occupation group is based on the National Occupational Classification (NOC) system.
• Data is sourced from Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey (LFS) and includes employed individuals only.
• Differences in occupational distribution may reflect regional economic structure, industry composition, and labour demand.
• Changes over time may indicate shifts in demand for specific skills or occupations.
• This indicator should be interpreted alongside others, such as vacancy rates and unemployment rates, to assess potential labour market imbalances.
• Data is available for provinces only; as a result, Canadian rates and totals reflect provincial data only.