Layoffs in Canada
By André Bernard and Diane Galarneau
From 1993 to 2007, the layoff rate followed a general downward trend in Canada, going from 5.5% to 2.4%. This drop was observed in most demographic groups and coincided with a long period of growth and declining unemployment.
Factors such as sex, age, education level, region of residence, duration of employment, firm size, union coverage, hourly wage rate and industry were factors significantly related to the probability of being laid off. For example, over the entire study period, men were one-and-a-half times more likely to be laid off than women.
A comparison of employment status in relation to the labour force activity of laid-off workers one year later found that persons laid of between 2002 and 2006 were more likely to be employed than those laid off between 1993 and 1997: their average employment rates were 81% and 73% respectively.
Persons who found a job after a layoff were nearly 60% more likely to experience an hourly wage reduction than see a gain. Furthermore, the wage reductions were substantial, usually greater than 20%.
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