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Canadian Labour Force Survey

The Labour Force Survey (LFS), conducted by Statistics Canada, is the only source of monthly estimates of total employment, including self-employment, full- and part-time employment, and unemployment. It collects monthly standard labour market indicators and is a major source of information on the personal characteristics of the working-age population in all provinces (the territories are not included).

A quarterly survey initially, the LFS became a monthly survey in 1952, and was designated the official source of measure of unemployment in Canada. The LFS is used by the TTSE and HRM to report on numbers of jobs, hours worked, wages and salaries by occupation, and demographics for each industry group. Furthermore, since the LFS is the most up-to-date source of labour information, the CTHRC reviews the data available for tourism industries on a monthly basis to help identify employment trends before they become major challenges.

Tourism Labour Force Survey – 2011

• In 2011, 10.4% of employed Canadians worked in the tourism sector.

• In 2011, the average unemployment rate in the tourism sector was 6.8%. While unemployment in tourism industries remains above the levels seen prior to the recession in 2007 (6.1%), the tourism unemployment rate has been consistently lower than the rate sen in the economy overall.

• British Columbia has the highest proportion of its employed population working in tourism (13.0%), while New Brunswick had the lowest (8.4%).

Download the Labour Force Survey - 2011 Tourism Highlights