Truck Driving No Longer Canadian Males’ Top Drawing Job

Truck Driving No Longer Canadian Males’ Top Drawing Job
Sunday, March 16, 2008

Over the five-year period between 2001 and 2006, a number of changes in Canada’s labor force took place. According to Statistics Canada's 2006 census report on Canada's labor force, trucking, for the first time in decades, is no longer Canada’s largest employer for Canadian males. Replacing truck driving as the most common occupation among males was being a retail sales clerk with reportedly 285,800 men working as retail salesmen. Truck driving came in second with 276,200 men working as truck drivers.

In terms of absolute numbers, the retail sector was the fastest-growing occupation as it saw its numbers increase by 132,300, the largest increase of all occupations. The second fastest-growing occupation belonged to construction and health care industries. Coming in second place, construction trades helpers and laborers saw an increase of 52,300 in their number, with much of the growth coming from British Columbia and Alberta, the former of which is experiencing a hot real estate market due to the preparation for the upcoming 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Cashiers increased by 43,300, a number which, according to Statistics Canada, reflects the growth in consumer spending in retail stores.

In terms of percentage, the oil and gas industry in Alberta, though still relatively small in numbers compared to other sectors, saw an increase of 78% in its numbers of oil and gas well drillers, testers, and related workers to 11,500, the largest percentage increase of all occupations.

On the other hand, a number of occupations showed depreciation. For instance, textile manufacturing saw sewing machine operators decline by 18,300 or 32.7%. Declining as well, over the past five years, was the number of metal fabricators and steel workers.

Data on labor mobility showed that 563,000 people, or 3.4% of the total labor force, moved to a different province between 2001 and 2006, with the highest mobility rates coming from the territories and Alberta.

Due to the increased tendency for older workers to continue working, data showed that, in 2006, those aged 55 and older constituted 15.3% of the total labor force as opposed to the 11.7% they represented back in 2001. Additionally, for the very first time, the median age - the middle value in a sequence of numbers - of the labor force surpassed 40 years, rising from 39.5 years in 2001 to 41.2 years in 2006.