New census data shows how commuting dropped during pandemic, labour force aging
New census data shows how commuting dropped during pandemic, labour force aging
OTTAWA -
New census data shows commuting levels dropped significantly in 2021 compared to 2016, and while some of that decline has rebounded, transit ridership hasn't fully recovered.
According to Statistics Canada, there were 2.8 million fewer commuters in 2021 than in 2016 as the pandemic drove a shift toward remote work.
The federal agency published a series of reports Wednesday based on the 2021 census, with two of them focused on commuting to work and the evolution of the labour force.
The data shows how COVID-19 altered commuting patterns and commute times, which fell with fewer cars on the road. StatCan notes that while those times are now rising again, commutes are still faster than they were in 2016.
Tricia Williams, director of research evaluation and knowledge mobilization at the Future Skills Centre, said the pandemic is a "tale of multiple stories."
"When you look at a lot of working-class people, their lives maybe haven't changed so much." Williams said. "But there's a vast swath of the population that has been able to have more flexible, remote workplaces."
The new census report illustrates that dichotomy. The drop in car commuting in May 2021 was mostly among workers in professional service industries. Among other workers, the number of car commuters actually increased.
By May 2021, most transit routes were operating normally with public health measures in effect, including mask mandates on trains and buses. A million Canadians took a bus or train to work in 2021, less than the 1.2 million who took transit when the data was first collected in 1996 and almost 50 per cent lower than it was in 2016.
Given the impact of the pandemic on remote work and commuting, StatCan also compared the 2021 data with updated numbers from this spring.
That showed that by May 2022, the number of people driving to work was back to 2016 levels. However, the number of people taking public transit was still lower than it was six years ago, making up just 7.7 per cent of all commuters.
Fewer people walked or biked to work in 2021 even though the federal government has spent millions on active transportation in recent years, including more than $400 million in 2021 alone.
Between 2016 and 2021 the number of people walking or cycling dropped by 26 per cent to 811,000. StatCan says that is due in part to the fact that there were fewer jobs in accommodations, food services and retail in 2021 -- nearly a third of the people who walked or biked to work in 2016 were in those sectors.
Williams said coming out of the pandemic, workers are hesitant to give up remote working.
"I think we'll continue to see flexibility as the new normal in workplaces," she said.
Statistics Canada has also published data on how the labour force is evolving as the Canadian population ages.
The labour force participation rate has fallen each census year since 2006 because of the aging of the baby boomer generation. As their growing health needs combined with the COVID-19 pandemic, pressures on the health-care system have increased.
The number of health-care workers increased by nearly 17 per cent between 2016 and 2021, but the rising demand for health-care workers during the pandemic has also brought into focus the challenges of ongoing labour shortages.
"Given the importance of demographic changes to economic growth, there will be continued focus on the extent to which immigration can mitigate the effects of population aging," the report said.
Between 2016 and 2021, 1.3 million immigrants were admitted to Canada, more than during any previous five-year period.
Experts have long raised concerns that immigrants are sometimes underutilized in the labour market. However, the report found that the unemployment gap is narrowing for recent immigrants in the working age group between 25 and 64.
In 2021, there was a 3.2 percentage-point gap in the unemployment rates of recent immigrants compared to other workers in the same age range. That's down from five percentage points in 2016.
During a news conference Wednesday, Statistics Canada's director general for labour and social well-being, Josee Begin, highlighted factors that may have contributed to the narrowing of the gap, including previous work or education experience in Canada.
"We know that recent immigrants are more educated than any previous cohort of immigrants," Begin said. "The fact that they are more educated has an impact in terms of the labour market outcomes."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 30, 2022.
On CTVNews.ca and YouTube: Health journalist Avis Favaro joins our Trend Line podcast, for an in-depth episode dedicated to the growing crises facing the Canadian health-care system.
Police have released a video of a driver who smashed a vehicle through the doors of Vaughan, Ont. mall early Wednesday before allegedly breaking into an electronics store.
The federal government is expected to introduce a law as early as Thursday to delay the extension of medically assisted dying eligibility to people whose sole underlying condition is a mental disorder.
On CTVNews.ca/W5: Executive Producer Derek Miller highlights an example of a W5 mini investigation that never made it to air, but made a difference in someone's life nonetheless.
On CTVNews.ca/W5: Executive Producer Derek Miller highlights some of W5's upcoming investigations, including Mexico's multi-billion dollar avocado industry run by cartels, and a continuing look into the Pivot Airlines passengers and crew who were detained for months without charges in the Dominican Republic.
The five-member Pivot Airlines crew, who had been detained in the Dominican Republic for almost eight months, is now back in Canada. An emotional airport reunion took place in a special pre-arrivals area of Toronto Pearson International Airport, as the two flight attendants, pilot, co-pilot and mechanic were greeted by family.
W5 speaks with Pivot Airlines flight attendant Christina Carello, who reveals new details about how she uncovered key evidence that had been tampered with in a nightmare ordeal in the Dominican Republic.
CTV's W5 has been shown never-before-seen surveillance footage of Punta Cana International Airport from the night before a Canadian airline crew was detained after discovering duffel bags stuffed with 210 kilograms of cocaine in their plane's avionics bay.
Fifty years ago, Omar Sachedina’s mother was expelled from Uganda along with tens of thousands of other Asians. This summer, she returned to her village for the first time. Omar recounts, in his own words, the emotional return to his mother’s homeland on CTVNews.ca.
While crews have resumed operations in an attempt to open the Rideau Canal Skateway for its 53rd season, an NCC spokesperson tells CTV News Ottawa the canal will not open in time for the first weekend of Winterlude on Friday.
Two weeks before Valentine's Day, OpenTable has released a list of the 100 Most Romantic Restaurants in Canada for 2023, based on more than one million reviews by OpenTable diners.
As the City of Barrie prepares for extreme cold to move through the area later this week, local shelters are working on expanding space for those in need.
A hearing is underway to determine if Udo Haan is not criminally responsible for the death of his wife Edra Haan, who was found in the aftermath of the 2018 house explosion in Kitchener, Ont.
Gillian Burnett was almost finished her work day on Jan. 24 when she received a terrifying call about her young son. Waylon, 20-months-old, was found submerged in an outdoor pool at a home daycare near Petrolia, Ont.
A private high school west of Montreal is promising to make changes, following allegations that administrators for years ignored complaints about racist bullying targeting two Black students.
The Nova Scotia government has entered into a $365-million, 10-year agreement with a health technology firm for the design and management of a digital medical record program first announced more than seven years ago.
As the temperature started to drop in the province over the weekend, many Manitobans were cranking up their home heaters, according to numbers from Manitoba Hydro.
Tsuut'ina Nation Police Service officials are encouraging any local victims to come forward following the arrest of actor Nathan Lee Chasing Horse in Las Vegas on sex assault charges.
Calgarians considering celebrating Valentine's Day with a meal at a local eatery have plenty to choose from, including nine named among the most romantic in Canada.
A second key player of Alberta's last government revealed their landing spot on Wednesday: former premier Jason Kenney is joining Bennett Jones' Calgary office.
A second key player of Alberta's last government revealed their landing spot on Wednesday: former premier Jason Kenney is joining Bennett Jones' Calgary office.
A B.C. man who stabbed his wife in the back was acquitted of aggravated assault after a judge found he was likely to have been "effectively asleep" at the time.
The NDP is calling on a House of Commons committee to expand its study of federal contracts awarded to McKinsey & Company and include other consulting firms that have received large contracts.
On CTVNews.ca and YouTube: Health journalist Avis Favaro joins our Trend Line podcast, for an in-depth episode dedicated to the growing crises facing the Canadian health-care system.
Lawmakers in Finland approved amendments Wednesday that will make it substantially easier for people to change their legally recognized gender in the Nordic country.
New guidelines on long-term care services by the Health Standards Organization say residents should receive at least four hours of direct care each day. If you or a loved one are living in long-term care, we want to hear from you.
In 2022, San Francisco-based Yelp removed more than 2,000 racist business reviews before they went online -- a nearly 10-fold jump over the year before.
An archeological team from Saint Mary's University will travel to France this summer to use ground-penetrating radar and other technology to assist a United States defence agency recover and identify military personnel missing since the Second World War.
Missy Elliott, Willie Nelson, Kate Bush, Iron Maiden, Cyndi Lauper, Soundgarden, Sheryl Crow and the late George Michael are the 2023 nominees for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, reflecting a mix of country, soul, hip-hop, metal, pop, rap-rock and grunge.
Beyonce is taking her "Renaissance" global -- the superstar will start a world tour in Sweden in May with stops throughout Europe and the United States.
Tsuut'ina Nation Police Service officials are encouraging any local victims to come forward following the arrest of actor Nathan Lee Chasing Horse in Las Vegas on sex assault charges.
Hindenburg Research, the financial research firm with an explosive name and a track record of sending the stock prices of its targets tumbling, is taking on one of the world's richest men. Hindenburg is back in the headlines after last week accusing Indian conglomerate Adani Group of 'a brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme.'
Losses in the energy sector helped lead Canada's main stock index lower in late-morning trading as it fell more than 100 points, while U.S. markets also fell ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest interest rate decision this afternoon.
A report from an investor-focused advocacy group raises questions about how well some of Canada's biggest investors are meeting their climate commitments. The report from Investors for Paris Compliance (IPC) looks at the voting records on shareholder proposals by 19 Canadian members of Climate Action 100+, a global coalition with around 700 members representing over $68 trillion in assets under management.
News that she'd be headed back to the office was very welcoming for English instructor Kathy Andvaag, after more than two years teaching from her “dark” and “cold” basement.
John Herdman is staying put. After a morning of speculation fuelled by a New Zealand report that the Canada men's soccer coach had agreed to take over the 105th-ranked All Whites, Herdman and Canada Soccer put out the fire with a statement Wednesday.
Brittney Griner's return to the WNBA this summer after being traded in a dramatic prisoner swap in December with Russia has collided with free agency, creating potential travel complications for the league out of safety concerns for her.
A good winter tire will always outperform an all-season tire in snowy, icy driving conditions and be the safer alternative. Edmunds' experts explain the importance of winter tires and offer advice on when to use them and how much you should pay.
The U.S. Justice Department has requested documents from Tesla related to its Autopilot and 'Full Self-Driving' features, according to a regulatory filing.
Europe is taking another big step toward cutting its energy ties with Russia, banning imports of diesel fuel and other products made from crude oil in Russian refineries. The European Union ban takes effect Feb. 5 following its embargo on coal and most oil from Russia.
