CAALL — Canadian Association of Administrators of Labour Legislation
New Employment Relationships Project (NERP) — Final Report 2007
An Analysis of Issues in New Work Relationships and their Implications for Development of Public Labour Policy and Law in Canada
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PHASE V — Working Conditions Based on Employment Relationship and Occupation
Length of Employment
Own-Account Self-Employed
A self-employed worker9 in 2003 had been on the job for an average of 119.2 months, or about 10 years. This compares to an average of 99.7 months for permanent employees (or 8.3 years). Of the 18 occupations examined, only nine have sufficient numbers of OASE workers to obtain reliable data. The lowest levels of tenure are found among Child Care and Home Support Workers10 (48.2 months) and Light Duty Cleaners (71.6 months). The two occupations in which tenure is highest are Heavy Equipment Operators (141.1 months) and Hairstylists and Barbers (134.8 months).
The ratio between job tenure of OASE workers and permanent employees varies between 55% and 333%. In four occupations, this ratio exceeds 100%: Truck Drivers (133.1%), Construction Trades (138.8%), Hairstylists and Barbers (234.4%), and those in Other Elemental Sales Occupations (333.3%). The last two occupations stand out, with job tenure sitting at 2.3 and 3.3 times that of their permanent counterparts.
Job tenure of OASE workers is lower than among permanent employees in four occupations: Clerical Occupations and General Office Skills, Light Duty Cleaners, Child Care and Home Support Workers, and Registered Nurses. In the last two cases, the disparity between OASE and permanent employees is quite significant, at 45% for Registered Nurses (65 months) and 38.7% for Child Care and Home Support Workers (30.4 months).
Temporary Employees
The length of employment among temporary workers is much lower than that of permanent employees. At an average of 32 months, tenure among temporary workers accounts for about one third the tenure of a permanent worker. Depending on the occupation, the actual proportion ranges from 26% to 54%. Five occupations reside below the average ratio of 32.1%: Clerical Occupations and General Office Skills (29.8%), Hairstylists and Barbers (29.0%), Nurse Aides and Orderlies (27.7%), Labourers In Processing, Manufacturing and Utilities (27.4%), and Grocery Clerks and Shelf Stockers (26.8%).
With an average tenure of 15.4 months, temporary Grocery Clerks hold second to last place. Temporary Other Elemental Sales employees have the lowest average tenure – roughly one year (12.3 months). However, it is worth noting that the gap between temporary and permanent employees in the Other Elemental Sales is the lowest, although permanent workers in this occupation have an already low average tenure of less than two years (22.8 months). Of the 18 occupations considered, five others reported an average tenure of less than 20 months among temporary employees. Hairstylists and Barbers showed a very high tenure gap between temporary (16.7 months) and permanent workers (57.5 months).
In addition to Other Elemental Sales Occupations, occupations where the gap between temporary and permanent employees is relatively low include Construction Trades, Construction Trades Helpers and Labourers, Child Care and Home Support Workers, and Registered Nurses. In all these cases, the ratio between length of employment among temporary employees and permanent workers ranges between 49% and 54%. In absolute terms, Registered Nurses have the highest length of employment among the temporary employees at 71.6 months, followed by Heavy Equipment Operators (59.7 months) and Nursing Assistants (54.3 months).
Mean Length of Employment Among Permanant, Temporary and OASE Workers, by Occupation — 2003
| Own Account Self-Employed | Average Job Tenure (months) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Occupation | Permanent employees | OASE | Ratio (OASE/Permanent) |
| 1. Other Elemental Sales | 22.8 | 76.0 | 333.3% |
| 2. Hairstylists & Barbers | 57.5 | 134.8 | 234.4% |
| 3. Construction Trades | 82.5 | 114.5 | 138.8% |
| 4. Truck Drivers | 86.5 | 115.1 | 133.1% |
| All Occupations | 99.7 | 119.2 | 119.6% |
| 5. Heavy Equipment Operators | 126.3 | 141.1 | 111.7% |
| 6. Clerical Occupations & General Office Skills | 90.5 | 81.1 | 89.6% |
| 7. Light Duty Cleaners | 87.8 | 71.6 | 81.5% |
| 8. Childcare & Home Support Workers | 78.6 | 48.2 | 61.3% |
| 9. Registered Nurses | 144.6 | 79.6 | 55.0% |
| 10. Registered Nursing Assistants | 152.1 | n.a. | n.a. |
| 11. Nurse Aides & Orderlies | 105.3 | n.a. | n.a. |
| 12. Labourers in Processing, Manufacturing & Utilities | 87.1 | n.a. | n.a. |
| 13. Grocery Clerks & Shelf Stockers | 57.4 | n.a. | n.a. |
| 14. Retail Salespersons & Sales Clerks | 53.1 | n.a. | n.a. |
| 15. Construction Trade Helpers & Labourers | 52.8 | n.a. | n.a. |
| 16. Food Counter Attendants & Kitchen Helpers | 47.2 | n.a. | n.a. |
| 17. Occupations in Food & Beverage | 45.1 | n.a. | n.a. |
| 18. Cashiers | 42.5 | n.a. | n.a. |
| Temporary Employees | Average Job Tenure (months) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Occupation | Permanent employees | Temporary | Ratio (Temp/Permanent) |
| 1. Other Elemental Sales | 22.8 | 12.3 | 53.9% |
| 2. Construction Trades | 82.5 | 42.0 | 50.9% |
| 3. Construction Trade Helpers & Labourers | 52.8 | 26.5 | 50.2% |
| 4. Childcare & Home Support Workers | 78.6 | 39.1 | 49.7% |
| 5. Registered Nurses | 144.6 | 71.6 | 49.5% |
| 6. Heavy Equipment Operators | 126.3 | 59.7 | 47.3% |
| 7. Truck Drivers | 86.5 | 35.8 | 41.4% |
| 8. Cashiers | 42.5 | 16.5 | 38.8% |
| 9. Occupations in Food & Beverage | 45.1 | 16.6 | 36.8% |
| 10. Light Duty Cleaners | 87.8 | 31.5 | 35.9% |
| 11. Registered Nursing Assistants | 152.1 | 54.3 | 35.7% |
| 12. Retail Salespersons & Sales Clerks | 53.1 | 18.9 | 35.6% |
| 13. Food Counter Attendants & Kitchen Helpers | 47.2 | 16.0 | 33.9% |
| All Occupations | 99.7 | 32.0 | 32.1% |
| 14. Clerical Occupations & General Office Skills | 90.5 | 27.0 | 29.8% |
| 15. Hairstylists & Barbers | 57.5 | 16.7 | 29.0% |
| 16. Nurse Aides & Orderlies | 105.3 | 29.2 | 27.7% |
| 17. Labourers in Processing, Manufacturing & Utilities | 87.1 | 23.9 | 27.4% |
| 18. Grocery Clerks & Shelf Stockers | 57.4 | 15.4 | 26.8% |
Source: Labour Force Survey. Statistics Canada, 2003.
9 In this document, "self-employed workers" refers to the self-employed who do not have employees, namely those who are own-account self-employed (OASE).
10 The definition of this job category was modified recently by Statistics Canada. As a result, the basis of the findings from Phase V is not exactly the same as those presented previously.