City of Vaughan

Key highlights

• All occupations within Vaughan experienced growth between 2016 and 2021, “Natural and applied sciences” and “Trades, transport and equipment operator” occupations saw the largest growth at 29 per cent and 28 per cent respectively.
• Vaughan’s key employment sectors continue to grow and diversify, between 2016 and 2021 healthcare sector employment grew 19 per cent, professional, scientific and technical services employment grew 15 per cent, and construction employment grew 11 per cent
• The Canadian healthcare sector has grown by 200,000 workers since 2016
• Employment in Canada’s construction sector has grown by 9.2 per cent since 2016, employing nearly 1.3 million workers
• Since 2016, the professional scientific and technical services sector in Canada grew 17 per cent employing 1.5 million workers

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INSIGHTS and Findings

Canada and Ontario

Canada’s labour force is being shaped by several long-term demographic and social trends. Most notably, the aging baby boomer generation has caused a decline in the participation rate of working-aged adults, while rising education levels amongst Canadians have played an increasingly important role in providing employment opportunities, especially those in high-paying sectors.

The construction industry remains an important source of employment for Canadians with varying education levels and recently landed immigrants.

At the national level, several key labour market trends have been identified. The number of healthcare workers increased to 1.5 million in 2021, an increase of 200,000 since 2016.

The construction industry, which accounts for 7.5 per cent of the nation’s GDP, employs nearly 1.3 million workers in 2021 – up 9.2 per cent from 1.2 million in 2016. The construction industry remains an important source of employment for Canadians with varying education levels and recently landed immigrants.

The professional scientific and technical services sector saw 17 per cent growth in 2021 outpacing all other sectors nationally with 1.5 million people employed. Those employed in this industry sector are in a wide array of occupations such as computer, software and web designers, human resources and business service industries, lawyers, accountants and auditors and engineers.

Sales and service occupations employed nearly four million workers in 2021, continuing to be important an important source of work for young Canadians and recently landed immigrants looking to enter the Canadian workforce.

Sales and service occupations employed nearly four million Canadians and 23 per cent of employment in 2021, representing the largest employment share across all industries. Hospitality was a major source of employment, with 783,000 working specifically in the accommodation and food service sectors. Sales and service occupations are particularly important for young people and immigrants looking to enter the Canadian workforce, as more than 1.4 million people worked in occupations that did not require any formal educational requirements. However, it was noted that those jobs not requiring formal education were hardest hit by the pandemic.

Recent immigrants account for 28 per cent of the core-aged labour force in Canada.

Recent immigrants are boosting Canada’s labour market growth. From 2016 to 2021, more than 1.3 million new immigrants were admitted to Canada, accounting for 28 per cent of the core age (25-64 years of age) labour force in 2021. Racialized groups were also noted for their increased labour force participation in 2021. Labour market participation increased 1.2 per cent (from 82.2 per cent to 83.4 per cent) for members of racialized groups, with the largest increases among core-aged Korean Canadians and West Asian Canadians.

City of Vaughan

Between 2016 and 2021, Vaughan’s core-aged (25-64 years old) labour force grew by four per cent, accounting for 176,625 residents. By employment type 69 per cent of Vaughan’s labour force (or 117,995 residents) are currently employed in permanent positions, while 11 per cent (or 19,805 residents) are employed in temporary positions. Self-employed residents in Vaughan accounted for 20 per cent of Vaughan’s total labour force, surpassing the number of self-employed people at the provincial (15 per cent) and national (15 per cent) level. Vaughan’s labour force comprises 28 per cent of York Regions’ total available labour force, which includes those not currently employed but seeking work.

All occupations within Vaughan experienced growth between 2016 and 2021, “Natural and applied sciences” and “Trades, transport and equipment operator” occupations saw the largest growth at 29 per cent and 28 per cent respectively.

Table 1: Number of Occupations in Vaughan, StatsCan 2016 and 2021

Vaughan’s key employment sectors continue to grow and diversify, between 2016 and 2021 healthcare sector employment grew 19 per cent, professional, scientific and technical services employment grew 15 per cent, and construction employment grew 11 per cent.

Table 2: Employment by Industry Sector, StatsCan 2016 and 2021