The median age of the Canadian workforce has surpassed the 40-year mark for the first time in 2006, according to census data from Statistics Canada.
Its report—Canada’s Changing Labour Force, 2006 Census—finds that the median age of the workforce rose to 41.2 years in 2006, up from 39.5 years in 2001. The median is the point where half are above and half below.
Workers aged 55 and older accounted for 15.3% of the total labour force, up from 11.7% five years earlier.
“This was the result of the baby boom generation approaching retirement age, and the increased tendency for older workers to participate in the labour force,” the report says.
According to the census, slightly more than 2 million people between the ages of 55 and 64 were employed in 2006—a 43% increase over 2001 figures. The overall workforce participation rate for this group increased to 59.7% from 54%.
Occupations with the oldest workers were farmers, real estate agents and bus drivers.
Approximately 84,000 farmers and farm managers were 55 or older in 2006, which is 42% of the total in the occupation. Real estate agents and property administrators had the next highest median age of 51 in 2006. About 37% of all the workers in these two occupations were 55 or older.
Other occupations with a high proportion in this age group were: ministers of religion (36%); bus drivers and other transit operators (34%); university professors (32%); senior managers in health, education, social and community services (30%); and senior government managers (26%).
For more information, click here to read the report on Statistics Canada’s website.
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