9. Canadian Indicators for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) - article 27: work and employment
On this page
- List of figures
- 9.1 Employment rate
- 9.2 Not in the Labour Force (NILF)
- 9.3 Part-time employment
- 9.4 Self-employment (part Ⅰ)
- 9.5 Self-employment (part Ⅱ)
- 9.6 Employment income
- 9.7 Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET)
- 9.8 Career advancement
- 9.9 Employment benefits
- 9.10 Experienced verbal, sexual or physical violence at work
- 9.11 Labour force discrimination
- 9.12 Workplace accommodations
- 9.13 Employment by occupation
Alternate formats
A PDF version of the Canadian Indicators for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is available on the index page.
List of figures
- Figure 9.1: Employment rate for the Canadian population aged 25 to 64 years, by disability status and sex, 2016
- Figure 9.2: NILF rate for the Canadian population aged 25 to 64 years, by disability status and sex, 2016
- Figure 9.3: Part-time employment of Canadian workers aged 25 to 64 years, by disability status and sex, 2016
- Figure 9.4: Self-employment rate of Canadian workers aged 25 to 64 years, by disability status and sex, 2016
- Figure 9.5: Self-employment distribution of Canadian workers aged 25 to 64 years, by disability status, 2016
- Figure 9.6: Median employment income of Canadian population employed full-year, full-time aged 25 to 64 years, by disability status and sex, 2015
- Figure 9.7: NEET rate of Canadian population aged 15 to 24 years, by disability status and sex, 2016
- Figure 9.8: Career advancement of Canadian workers aged 25 to 64 years, by disability status and sex, 2016
- Figure 9.9: Access to employment benefits for Canadian workers aged 25 to 64 years, by disability status, 2016
- Figure 9.10: Proportion of employees aged 25 to 64 years subjected to verbal, sexual or physical violence at work, by disability status and sex, 2016
- Figure 9.11: Proportion of employees with disabilities aged 25 to 64 years who experienced labour discrimination because of their condition, disaggregated by sex, 2017
- Figure 9.12: Employment of Canadian population aged 25 to 64 years, by disability status and occupation, 2016
9.1 Employment rate
Figure 9.1 - Text description
| Gender | Persons with disabilities | Persons without disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 62% | 84% |
| Women | 57% | 76% |
- Notes: Employment rate = (employed/total population) × 100.
- Differences between persons with disabilities and persons without disabilities are statistically significant for both women and men (p<0.05).
- Information about employment rates is from 2016 Census data linked to the Canadian Survey on Disability. It reflects the reference week for the Census, from Sunday May 1 to Saturday May 7, 2016.
- Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2017 (Social Research Division calculations).
Persons with disabilities had lower rates of employment than those without disabilities.
Among men aged 25 to 64 years, 62% of persons with disabilities were employed compared to 84% of those without disabilities.
Among women aged 25 to 64 years, 57% of persons with disabilities were employed compared to 76% of those without disabilities.
9.2 Not in the Labour Force (NILF)
Figure 9.2 - Text description
| Gender | Persons with disabilities | Persons without disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 32% | 11% |
| Women | 38% | 20% |
- Notes: NILF= Proportion not in the labour force = ((total population − employed − unemployed) ∕ total population) × 100.
- Differences between persons with disabilities and persons without disabilities are statistically significant for both women and men (p<0.05).
- Information about employment rates is from 2016 Census data linked to the Canadian Survey on Disability. It reflects the reference week for the Census, from Sunday, May 1 to Saturday, May 7, 2016.
- Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2017 (Social Research Division calculations).
Persons with disabilities had lower rates of labour force participation than those without disabilities.
Among men aged 25 to 64 years, 32% of those with disabilities were not in the labour force (NILF). This compares to 11% of those without disabilities.
Among women aged 25 to 64 years, 38% of those with disabilities were NILF. This compares to 20% of those without disabilities.
9.3 Part-time employment
Figure 9.3 - Text description
| Gender | Persons with disabilities | Persons without disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 14% | 8% |
| Women | 24% | 19% |
- Notes: Part-time work is defined as less than 30 hours per week. For both employees and self-employed the data refers to their main or only job.
- Part-time employment rate = (employed part-time ∕ total employed) × 100
- Differences between persons with disabilities and persons without disabilities are statistically significant for both women and men (p<0.05).
- Information about employment rates comes from 2016 Census data linked to the Canadian Survey on Disability. It reflects the reference week for the Census, from Sunday, May 1 to Saturday, May 7, 2016.
- Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2017 (Social Research Division calculations).
Persons with disabilities had a greater likelihood of working part-time than those without disabilities.
Among employed men aged 25 to 64 years, 14% of those with disabilities were in part-time work compared to 8% of those without disabilities.
Among employed women aged 25 to 64 years, 24% of those with disabilities were in part-time work compared to 19% of those without disabilities.
9.4 Self-employment (part Ⅰ)
Figure 9.4 - Text description
| Gender | Persons with disabilities | Persons without disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 15.3% | 14.5% |
| Women | 11% | 11% |
- Notes: Self-employment includes persons who are either unpaid family workers, self-employed/incorporated, or self-employed/unincorporated.
- Self-employment rate = (Self-employed ∕ total employed) × 100
- Differences between persons with disabilities and persons without disabilities are statistically significant only for men (p<0.05).
- Information about employment rates comes from 2016 Census data linked to the Canadian Survey on Disability. It reflects the reference week for the Census, from Sunday, May 1 to Saturday, May 7, 2016.
- Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2017 (Social Research Division calculations).
Persons with disabilities had a similar likelihood of being self-employed compared to those without disabilities.
Among employed men aged 25 to 64 years, 15.3% of those with disabilities were self-employed. This compares to 14.5% of those without disabilities.
Among employed women aged 25 to 64 years, 11% of those with and without disabilities were self-employed.
9.5 Self-employment (part Ⅱ)
Figure 9.5 - Text description
| Self-employment category | Persons with disabilities | Persons without disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Unincorporated, without paid help | 50% | 41% |
| Unincorporated, with paid help | 18% | 18% |
| Incorporated, without paid help | 15% | 17% |
| Incorporated, with paid help | 16% | 22% |
| Unpaid family worker | 1%* | 2%* |
* = Use with caution.
- Notes: Unincorporated, without paid help: Working owners of a business, farm, or professional practice that is not incorporated and self-employed persons who do not have a business (for example, baby-sitters and newspaper carriers). This group does not have employees.
- Unincorporated, with paid help: Working owners of a business, farm, or professional practice that is not incorporated and self-employed persons who do not have a business (for example, baby-sitters and newspaper carriers). This group has employees.
- Incorporated, without paid help: Working owners of an incorporated business, farm, or professional practice who do not have employees.
- Incorporated, with paid help: Working owners of an incorporated business, farm, or professional practice who have employees.
- Unpaid family worker: Persons who work without pay on a farm or in a business or professional practice owned and operated by another family member living in the same dwelling.
- Differences between persons with disabilities and persons without disabilities are statistically significant for "Unincorporated without paid help" and "Incorporated, with help" categories (p<0.05).
- The sum of the values for each category may differ from the total due to rounding.
- Information about employment rates comes from 2016 Census data linked to the Canadian Survey on Disability. It reflects the reference week for the Census, from Sunday, May 1 to Saturday, May 7, 2016.
- E = Use with caution
- Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2017 (Social Research Division calculations).
Compared to their counterparts without disabilities, workers with disabilities aged 25 to 64 years had a higher likelihood of being self-employed in an unincorporated business without paid help. They had a lower likelihood of being self-employed in an incorporated business with paid help.
9.6 Employment income
Figure 9.6 - Text description
| Gender | Persons with disabilities | Persons without disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Men | $58,000 | $61,700 |
| Women | $44,300 | $49,900 |
- Notes: Median income of those who were employed full-time for at least 49 weeks in 2015. Data for this variable were obtained from administrative data linked to the 2016 Census of Population.
- Differences between employees with disabilities and employees without disabilities are statistically significant for both women and men (p<0.05).
- This refers to median personal income from all sources after tax for 2015.
- Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2017 (Social Research Division calculations).
Persons with disabilities employed full-year, full-time had lower median employment income than those without disabilities.
Among full-year, full-time employed men aged 25 to 64 years, the median employment income of those with disabilities was $58,000. This compares to $61,700 for those without disabilities.
Among full-year, full-time employed women aged 25 to 64 years, the median employment income of those with disabilities was $44,300. This compares to $49,900 for those without disabilities.
9.7 Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET)
Figure 9.7 - Text description
| Gender | Persons with disabilities | Persons without disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 18% | 8% |
| Women | 12% | 7% |
- Notes: NEET refers to those not in education, employment, or training.
- Differences between persons with disabilities and persons without disabilities are statistically significant for both women and men (p<0.05).
- Information about employment rates comes from 2016 Census data linked to the Canadian Survey on Disability. It reflects the reference week for the Census, from Sunday, May 1 to Saturday, May 7, 2016.
- Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2017 (Social Research Division calculations).
Young persons with disabilities had higher NEET rates than those without disabilities.
Among men aged 15 to 24 years, 18% of those with disabilities were not in employment, education, or training. This compares to 8% of those without disabilities.
Among women aged 15 to 24 years, 12% of those with disabilities were not in employment, education, or training. This compares to 7% of those without disabilities.
9.8 Career advancement
Figure 9.8 - Text description
| Gender | Persons with disabilities | Persons without disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 43% | 57% |
| Women | 42% | 51% |
- Notes: The data refers to the proportion who responded that they "strongly agree" or "agree" with the following statement: "Your job offers good prospects for career advancement".
- Differences between persons with disabilities and persons without disabilities are statistically significant for both women and men (p<0.05).
- Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey, 2016 (Social Research Division calculations).
Persons with disabilities reported lower prospects for career advancement than those without disabilities.
Among employed men aged 25 to 64 years, 43% of those with disabilities said that their job offered good prospects for career advancement. This compares to 57% of those without disabilities.
Among employed women aged 25 to 64 years, 42% of those with disabilities said that their job offered good prospects for career advancement. This compares to 51% of those without disabilities.
9.9 Employment benefits
Figure 9.9 - Text description
| Employment benefit category | Persons with disabilities | Persons without disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Disability insurance | 41% | 48% |
| Maternity, parental, or layoff benefits | 40% | 47% |
| Workplace pension plan | 37% | 43% |
| Paid sick leave | 41% | 46% |
| Paid vacation leave | 54% | 59% |
| Supplemental medical/dental care | 46% | 51% |
| Worker's compensation | 49% | 52% |
- Notes: Differences between persons with disabilities and persons without disabilities are statistically significant for all employment benefit categories (p<0.05).
- Information about employment rates comes from 2016 Census data linked to the Canadian Survey on Disability. It reflects the reference week for the Census, from Sunday, May 1 to Saturday, May 7, 2016.
- Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey, 2016 (Social Research Division calculations).
Workers with disabilities reported consistently worse access to the following employment benefits in comparison to workers without disabilities:
- disability insurance
- maternity, parental or layoff benefits
- workplace pension plan
- paid sick leave
- paid vacation leave
- supplemental medical/dental care
- worker's compensation
9.10 Experienced verbal, sexual or physical violence at work
Figure 9.10 - Text description
| Gender | Persons with disabilities | Persons without disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 18% | 8% |
| Women | 21% | 13% |
- Notes: The data refers to the proportion who responded "yes" to the question "In the past 12 months, have you been subjected to: verbal, sexual or physical violence at work, while at work?
- Differences between persons with disabilities and persons without disabilities are statistically significant for both women and men (p<0.05).
- Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey, 2016 (Social Research Division calculations).
Persons with disabilities reported higher rates of verbal, sexual or physical violence at work than those without disabilities.
Among employed men aged 25 to 64 years, 18% of those with disabilities experienced verbal, sexual or physical violence at work. This compares to 8% of those without disabilities.
Among employed women aged 25 to 64 years, 21% of those with disabilities experienced verbal, sexual or physical violence at work. This compares to 13% of those without disabilities.
9.11 Labour force discrimination
Figure 9.11 - Text description
| Form of labour discrimination | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| Disadvantaged in employment | 26% | 28% |
| Refused a job | 10% | 9% |
| Refused a promotion | 9% | 10% |
- Notes: "Disadvantaged in employment" refers to those who responded "yes" to the question "Do you consider yourself to be disadvantaged in employment because of your condition?"
- "Refused a job" refers to those who responded "yes" to the question "In the past 5 years, do you believe that because of your condition, you have been refused a job?"
- "Refused a promotion" refers to those who responded "yes" to the question "In the past 5 years, do you believe that because of your condition, you have been refused a job promotion?"
- Differences between men with disabilities and women with disabilities are not statistically significant for above categories (p<0.05).
- Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2017 (Social Research Division calculations).
When asked about labour force discrimination, 26% of men and 28% of women with disabilities aged 25 to 64 said that they considered themselves disadvantaged in employment due to their condition.
About 10% of men and 9% of women with disabilities aged 25 to 64 said that they had been refused a job because of their condition in the past 5 years.
About 9% of men and 10% of women with disabilities aged 25 to 64 said that they had been refused a job promotion because of their condition in the past 5 years.
9.12 Workplace accommodations
| Type of workplace accommodation | Required | Needs met |
|---|---|---|
| Modified hours or days or reduced work hours | 19% | 74% |
| Modified or different duties | 14% | 66% |
| Special chair or back support | 11% | 61% |
| Modified or ergonomic workstation | 10% | 60% |
| Working from home | 8% | 70% |
- Note: Requirements for workplace accommodations are shown as a percentage of the total population of employees with disabilities. Note that employees may require more than one type of accommodation. For employees with disabilities, a need is met if the workplace accommodation required by them to be able to do their work was made available.
- Source: Canadian Survey on Disability, 2017 - Workplace accommodations for employees with disabilities in Canada (Statistics Canada calculations).
The most frequently required workplace accommodation was flexible work schedules in the form of modified hours or days or reduced work hours (19%). It was made available, or the need was met, for 74% of the employees for whom it was required.
The second most frequently required workplace accommodation was modified or different duties (14%). It was made available, or the need was met, for 66% of the employees for whom it was required.
9.13 Employment by occupation
Figure 9.12 - Text description
| Occupation category | Persons with disabilities | Persons without disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Sales and service | 23% | 18% |
| Business, finance, and administration | 17% | 17% |
| Trades, transport, and equipment operators | 15% | 15% |
| Education, law and social, community and government services | 14% | 13% |
| Management | 10% | 13% |
| Health | 7% | 8% |
| Natural and applied sciences | 7% | 8% |
| Manufacturing and utilities | 4% | 4% |
| Art, culture, recreation, and sport | 3% | 3% |
| Natural resources, agriculture, and related production | 2% | 2% |
- Notes: Occupation refers to the field of work, during reference period, in which a respondent was employed or worked longest if unemployed or working 2 jobs (The National Occupational Classification, 2016).
- Differences between persons with disabilities and persons without disabilities are statistically significant for "Management", "Natural and applied sciences", and "Sales and service (p<0.05).
- Information about employment rates comes from 2016 Census data linked to the Canadian Survey on Disability. It reflects the reference week for the Census, from Sunday, May 1 to Saturday, May 7, 2016.
- Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2017 (Social Research Division calculations).
Persons with disabilities were more concentrated in "Sales and service" than persons without disabilities.
Persons with disabilities were underrepresented in "Management" and "Natural and applied sciences".