A Profile of Older Workers

1
A Profile of Older Workers

• NWT Bureau of Statistics
• April 2007

2
Brown Bag Series 2006-07

• This is the sixth in a series of analytical
  presentations that will be undertaken in 2006-07
  by the Bureau of Statistics on behalf of ECE. The
  planned topics are
• Labour Supply in the NWT
• Employment Income Patterns
• Barriers to Labour Market Entry
• Regional Labour Market Profiles
• Forecast Occupation Demand
• A Profile of Older Workers in the NWT
• Current and past presentations are available on
  the Bureau of Statistics website at
  www.stats.gov.nt.ca

3
Presentation Overview

• This presentation provides examines the labour
  market profile of persons aged 55-64 - i.e.,
  older workers
• There are four parts to the presentation
• Characteristics and Education
• Employment and Work Patterns
• Labour Supply
• Summary Remarks

4
Characteristics and Education
5
Older Workers, by the numbers
2006 Population (Total) 41,748 Population
(55-64) 3,311 (7.9) Population
(15) 31,710 Population (55-64) 3,311
(10.4) 2004 Of those 55-64 years
old Employed 1,889 Labour Supply
438 NILF - No Job Wanted 530
6
Historical Population 55-64 Year Olds

• Over the last ten years, the number of persons
  aged 55-64 has increased by over 1,300, or 71.
• Male share has increased from 54 to 57 over
  this period.

7
Population Share, by Gender 1996-2006

• In 2006, those 55-64 comprised 7.9 of the total
  population, up from 4.6 in 1996.
• The share of males 55-64 increased from 4.9 in
  1996, to 8.6 in 2006.

8
Historical HLOS 1989 and 2004

• There has been significant improvement in the
  education profile of older workers over the last
  15 years.
• The proportion of those with high school or
  greater increased from 43 to 70

9
HLOS Age Groups Compared, 2004

• Compared to those aged 15-54, a greater
  proportion of older workers have post-secondary
  education, but 20 still have less than a grade 9
  education.

10
HLOS (55-64), by Gender 2004

• A higher proportion of males have
  certificates/diplomas, while across all other
  education categories males and females have very
  similar attainment.

11
HLOS (55-64), by Ethnicity 2004

• Significant discrepancies are apparent when we
  examine the educational attainment of older
  workers by ethnicity.

12
HLOS (55-64), by Community Type 2004

• Educational attainment tends to be lower in small
  communities, relative to the regional centres and
  Yellowknife.

13
Employment and Work Patterns
14
Employment Rates by HLOS

• Older workers demonstrate that higher employment
  rates are closely associated with higher levels
  of educational attainment.

15
Employment Rates, by HLOS and Community Type

• Older workers with high school or greater have
  twice the employment rate of those without high
  school in the small communities.

16
Historical Employment Rates

• Over the last 15 years, employment rates have
  improved for both genders and aboriginal persons
• The employment rate for non-aboriginal persons
  declined over this period.

17
Historical Employment Rates

• Employment rates in Yellowknife and the regional
  centres declined slightly, possibly the result of
  the exit of older workers from the labour market
• Small communities showed significant improvement
  over the last 15 years, although levels remain
  well below that of Yellowknife and the regional
  centres.

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Volume of Work, by Age Group 2003

• The work pattern for employed persons 55-64 years
  of age is comparable to that of all employed
  persons.

19
Volume of Work, by Gender 2003

• Within the 55-64 year age group, the pattern of
  work volume is consistent across gender...

20
Volume of Work, by Ethnicity 2003

• but aboriginal persons tend to have a lower
  proportion of persons employed for 26 weeks or
  longer (20 difference)

21
Volume of Work, by Community Type 2003

• which in part can be explained by community
  type, as a significant proportion of aboriginal
  persons 55-64 are located in small communities .

22
NWT Incomes 2004

• Across all income measures - average total,
  average employed, and median total income - those
  55-64 have significantly higher incomes that the
  tax-filing population as a whole.

23
Income, 50,000 or More 2004

• The proportion of those 55-64 with income of 50k
  or more is consistently higher, across all
  community types, than the population as a whole.

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Labour Supply
25
Distribution of (Aged 55-64) Labour Market
Participants

• The unemployed, and those NILF who want a job,
  constitutes the labour supply 438 persons
• The 530 NILF who do NOT want a job, are out of
  scope

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NILF-No Job Wanted, by GenderReasons for not
wanting a job

• For those who dont want a job, retirement and
  own illness of disability account for the primary
  reasoning across genders

27
NILF-No Job Wanted, by EthnicityReasons for not
wanting a job

• The reasoning is very similar when examined by
  ethnicity, with retirement being the primary
  reason.

28
HLOS Employed vs Labour Supply

• Comparing the employed and the labour supply
  groupings
• 45 of the older worker labour supply has less
  that high school
• 28 of employed older workers have a university
  degree.

29
Labour Supply, by Gender/Ethnicity

• Females and aboriginal persons tend to have
  greater proportions outside the labour force who
  want a job.

30
Labour Supply, by Community Type

• In Yellowknife, the majority of labour supply was
  not in the labour force, but wanting a job.
• Wanting a job may be related to the more
  developed labour market in Yellowknife.

31
Employed and Labour Supply Regional Distribution

• Where older workers are employed, and where the
  potential labour supply resides, is an important
  consideration in the planning of programs.

32
Older Workers who want a job, but did not look

• Overall, retirement and own illness or disability
  were the reasons cited by 53 of respondents as
  to why they didnt look for a job, despite the
  fact they wanted a job.

33
Older Workers who want a job, but did not look,
by Gender

• Males tend to more pessimistic regarding their
  labour market prospects, while more women (43)
  opted for retirement

34
Older Workers who want a job, but did not look,
by Ethnicity

• Aboriginal respondents cited no jobs available
  (38) as the primary reason for not looking for a
  job
• This is likely a function of where these
  respondents are located - smaller communities.

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Summary Remarks1

• The proportion of persons 55-64, relative to
  total population, has increased significantly
  over the last 10 years, going from 4.6 (1996) to
  7.9 (2006).
• Educational attainment of older workers has
  improved significantly over the last 15 years
• However there remains some significant disparity
  in educational attainment by ethnicity and
  community type.
• While almost half of older workers are employed
  in the Yellowknife area, the potential labour
  supply of older workers is more evenly
  distributed across regions of the NWT.

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Summary Remarks2

• While those 55-64 account for 7.9 of total
  population, and 10.4 of the working age
  population, the majority in this age group are
  either employed or do not want a job.
• In 2004, 438 persons aged 55-64 were unemployed
  (178) or were NILF, but wanted a job (260)
• Of the 260 who wanted a job, with regard to why
  they didnt look for work
• 32 indicated they were retired or too elderly
• 21 indicated they were ill or disabled and
• 8 indicated they were waiting for recall, or
  starting a new job
• This leaves only 39, or about 100 persons, who
  want a job, and for whom transitional programs
  may be of service - to get them into employment.

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Contact Information

• NWT Bureau of Statistics
• Department of Executive
• [phone]
• angelo_cocco_at_gov.nt.ca
• www.stats.gov.nt.ca