Authors

Executive Summary

Morgan Gagnon, Interim Director of Policy & Research, Provincial Employment Roundtable

In the context of an aging population in Québec, as well as a shrinking labour pool amid ongoing labour shortages, this report aims to identify issues related to the labour market integration and retention of mature workers in Québec. More specifically, it explores the intersection between ageism and linguistic identity in Québec, given the higher socioeconomic precarity experienced by English speakers in the province. 

To explore these subjects, we collected quantitative data from the Census of Canada, conducted an inventory of the employment programs targeted towards mature English-speaking workers, and held focus groups with mature workers. Through our research, we determined that unemployment tends to increase as workers get older in Québec. This was the case regardless of mature workers’ linguistic identity, indicating that age may be a larger contributing factor to unemployment among mature workers than their official language spoken. Other variables we examined, such as labour force participation rate, showed that English-speaking mature workers tend to have higher labour force participation than French-speaking mature workers, indicating that language likely still plays an important role in mature workers’ labour market experiences. Generally, we did not identify consistent trends of labour market precarity among English-speaking mature workers compared to French-speaking mature workers. However, socioeconomic indicators such as the low-income cutoff show that a greater proportion of English-speaking mature individuals tend to live below the low-income cutoff.

Key Findings

• English speakers and French speakers tend to have declining labour force participation and increasing unemployment rates as they age, highlighting the significant impact of age on workers’ experiences in the labour market. However, the following differences between the linguistic groups appear in the quantitative data:
  • Mature English speakers tend to have higher rates of labour force participation than French speakers (for individuals aged 45 and older, English speakers have a labour force participation rate of 56.2% compared to French speakers’ 49.6%).
  • Mature English speakers tend to have higher unemployment rates than French speakers for individuals aged 45 and older (English speakers have an unemployment rate of 10% compared to French speakers’ 7.4%). However, as the age increases, the unemployment rate among French speakers increases sharply, surpassing that of English speakers.
  • Among individuals aged 45-64, French speakers earn more in median after-tax income. From the age of 65 onwards, English speakers earn more.
  • A higher proportion of mature English speakers live below the low-income cutoff (for individuals aged 45 and older, 7.5% of English speakers, compared to 4.7% of French speakers, live below the low-income cut-off).
• There are five employment programs targeted towards mature English speakers in Québec, all of which are in the Montréal area. Program providers indicate that the main issue in their ecosystem is a lack of resources and support for existing programs that would enable them to meet the evolving needs of their clients more effectively.
• Focus group participants indicated that ageism was a significant barrier to employment and retention within the labour force. They described how ageist hiring practices and myths negatively impacted the hiring process and, for those holding jobs, how it limited the opportunities available to them.
• Participants described experiencing poor mental health as a result of lengthy job search processes and narrowing opportunities, including frustration, isolation, depression, and anxiety.
• Program providers delivering employment services to clientele exhibiting signs of poor mental health indicated that they often performed significant socio-emotional work to help rebuild their clients’ confidence prior to the job search process.