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January 19, 1999
Youth at Work in Canada
This 28-page report provides a portrait of the employment situation for Canadian teens. How many teens had work experience in the 1990s, compared to those in earlier decades? What kinds of jobs do young people find? Does family status affect a young person's likelihood of employment? Do teenage girls fare better, or worse, than boys in the labour market? Does working part-time impede a young person's school performance? Answers to these and other questions are provided in this report by the Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD), produced as a companion publication to The Progress of Canada's Children 1998 – Focus on Youth.
Entering the Paid Labour Force
Teens' labour force participation rate is at it lowest point in 25 years. -
58 per cent of 16-year-olds have never had a paying job, compared to 26 per cent in 1989.
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Teens in higher-income families are more likely to have jobs.
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Teens in rural areas and small cities are more likely to have jobs than teens in large cities.
Teens' Work and Earnings
Most young men work in retail sales, service, or blue-collar jobs. -
Most young women work as caregivers or in clerical jobs.
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Young men are more likely to have higher wages than young women.
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The majority of teens earn less than $200 per week.
Work and School
The percentage of 18-year-olds enrolled in school increased by 25 percentage points between 1981 and 1996. -
Teens who work less than 20 hours per week do as well in school as teens without jobs.
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Nearly one-third of full-time teen students have paid jobs.
The Effect of Work on Young Peoples' Lifestyles
Teens with jobs are more likely to smoke than teens without jobs. -
Teens who work are more likely to drink alcohol than teens who do not work.
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Young men who work are more likely to drink heavily than teens who do not work.
Youth at Work in Canada - Related Material
Canadian Council on Social Development,
309 Cooper Street, 5th Floor,
Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 0G5
Tel: (613) 236-8977, Fax: (613) 236-2750, Web: www.ccsd.ca, Email: council@ccsd.ca
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