Sithandazile Kuzviwanza, Director of Policy & Research, Provincial Employment Roundtable
Morgan Gagnon, Policy Researcher, Provincial Employment Roundtable
Joshua Loo, Policy Research Intern, Provincial Employment Roundtable
Nicholas Salter, Executive Director, Provincial Employment Roundtable
Chad Walcott, Director of Engagement & Communications, Provincial Employment Roundtable
Maria De las Salas, Communications & Engagement Specialist, Provincial Employment Roundtable
Marla Williams, Consultant
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This profile contributes to the knowledge and understanding of the employment issues faced by Nord-du-Québec’s English-speaking communities by surveying the most comprehensive information on the demographic and labour force conditions of English speakers in the region.
Key Findings:
- The English-speaking community comprises 23,340 individuals within Nord-du-Québec’s total population of 43,895. Nord-du-Québec is the only region with a higher percentage of English speakers than French speakers (53.2% compared to 40.4%).
- The majority of individuals living in Nord-du-Québec are Cree and Inuit, and speak an indigenous language as their mother tongue.
- English speakers make up 51.9% of the labour force in Nord-du-Québec, which is less than their weight in the region’s total population. This is not uncommon – in three out of five resource-oriented regions, English speakers are underrepresented in the labour force.
- Individuals aged 25-44 make up the majority of the labour force in Nord-du-Québec, irrespective of linguistic identity.
- Among English speakers, there are more women than men in Nord-du-Québec’s labour force (26.1% compared to 25.7%). There are only three other regions where this is the case, all of which are also resource-oriented (Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Côte-Nord, and Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine).
- The top industries in which English speakers are employed are healthcare, public administration, and education.
- The unemployment rate in Nord-du-Québec is almost double the provincial unemployment rate (13% compared to 7.2%). The unemployment rate among English speakers (16.6%) is the third highest rate experienced by any English-speaking community in the province. French speakers have an unemployment rate of 9.1%.
- Youth aged 15-24 experience the highest unemployment rate of any age group. English-speaking youth have an unemployment rate that is almost double (26.8%) that of French-speaking youth (14.2%).
- English-speaking men have the highest unemployment rate of any sex-linguistic group (20.6%) in Nord-du-Québec. French-speaking women have the lowest unemployment rate of any sex-linguistic group (6.6%).
- English speakers in Nord-du-Québec earn a significantly lower median after-tax salary than French speakers ($28,969 compared to $36,428). This is the largest income disparity observed in the province.
- English speakers in Nord-du-Québec have the lowest rate of postsecondary attainment in the province (30.4%), and the highest rates of no formal educational attainment (56.1%) in the province.
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