Canadians working longer, taking longer to get there: census
Posted Nov 29, 2017 08:50:28 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The latest census figures show more Canadians are spending longer in class, working longer careers and putting up with longer commutes.
The numbers released today, the sixth and last release of 2016 data from Statistics Canada, show more than half of Canada’s core working population — those aged 25 to 64 — have degrees or diplomas from a college or university.
That’s the highest rate among a group of comparable countries that includes the United States.
And while women now account for half of all master’s degrees in Canada, with more working single mothers holding a university degree compared with a decade earlier, they’re still struggling to close the wage gap with men.
For example, a male in Saskatchewan with an apprenticeship certificate earned a median income about $13,000 higher than a female with a university degree in the province.
The census also shows one-fifth of seniors over age 65 were in the workforce last year, twice the rate from 20 years ago. Getting to work, however, is no faster — commute times inched up in 2016, even as more Canadians opted for public transit.
