Workforce Diversity Profile
Toronto has the largest labour force in Canada, with one of the most educated and skilled workforces in North America. Our workers are an incredible asset in attracting new businesses and driving economic development. However, many workers in Toronto face systemic barriers to full workforce participation, preventing them from sharing in the City’s prosperity.
TWIG’s Inclusion profiles derived from the 2021 Census, yield considerable information on the income, education, occupations, and sectors for each of the above groups. These profiles provide important information that has implications for workforce policymakers and practitioners who want to design better employment supports for groups facing barriers to employment and higher income in the City of Toronto.
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A Work in Progress: Towards $10 a day Child Care in Toronto.
The signing of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) agreement between the Province of Ontario and Federal Government in March 2022 provided a significant opportunity to make child care more accessible and affordable to families. The $10-a-day child care initiative has successfully lowered fees, increasing access for low and middle-income families and consequently raising demand. However, challenges persist. While Toronto has seen growth in child care spaces over the past two years, the availability is hindered by challenges in recruiting qualified staff. The report highlights disparities in child care access among communities, emphasizing the ongoing efforts required to enhance the effectiveness of the initiative. It acknowledges that the current state of the initiative is a work in progress.
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Quality of Life, or Quality of Work? The Great Resignation in Ontario
The Great Resignation is a phrase that describes record numbers of people leaving their jobs during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Many labour market observers see the Great Resignation as a once-in-a-generation change to the way workers find a better work-life balance. Indeed, the Great Resignation is viewed by many as one of the major factors behind our ongoing labour shortages. While the Great Resignation remains an ongoing narrative, recently some U.S. studies have cast doubt on the nature and depth of the Great Resignation.
This paper, using Canadian Labour Force Survey (LFS) data, seeks to determine whether the phenomenon occurred in Ontario.
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Labour Market Insights
Metro Toronto Movement for Literacy and TWIG partnered in 2022-2023 to create a labour market tool that can be used not only by adult literacy and language programs but also their learners to find relevant and up-to-date information about the labor market, help with making informed decisions about employment, developing job search skills, preparing for the workplace, and customized learning. The tool was developed in consultation with adult learners and practitioners and includes real-time data on employment trends in Toronto, along with suggestions on how LMI can be used.
The LMI tool can be downloaded here, or you can access it at: https://www.mtml.ca/updates/labour-market-information/toronto-region. The Labour Market Information will be updated on a quarterly basis.
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Think Design Report
Design is recognized around the world as a key to economic and social prosperity. Toronto is well positioned to take advantage of the economic opportunity inherent in this current Design focus with a critical mass of designers working in the Design disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture, industrial, interior, graphic, fashion, planning and urban design.
Written by Kevin Stolarick, this TWIG report provides an in-depth qualitative and quantitative overview of design occupations and industry sectors. The report also provides labour market insights on how Toronto’s design sector can continue to thrive over the coming decade.
Toronto Then & Now: Census Infograhpics
Every five years, Canadians are invited to participate in the census to help paint a portrait of Canada’s diverse population and the places where we live. The Census of Population provides high-quality information on key socioeconomic trends and analysis that helps Ontario and the City of Toronto to make important decisions that affect our families, our neighbourhoods and our businesses.
This infographic celebrates the release of Toronto’s 2021 Census data by comparing our labour force of today with what it looked like 100 years ago.
Now More than Ever. Measuring Job Churn.
Guide to Best Practices in Diversity & Inclusion: Lessons from Top Canadian Employers
How to Guide: Developing Purpose at Work, a Guide for Employers to Increase Retention
