ThirdQuarter News Stories

First Results of the Survey of Older Workers in Canada, 2008

Statistics Canada's Special Surveys Division , provides a first look at the data from the Survey of Older Workers. The report looks at Canada's labour force as its pertains to Canadian workers aged 50 to 75.


By Jean Pignal, Stephen Arrowsmith and Andrea Ness – PDF information download

  • Five million Canadians between the age of 50 and 75 were working or had worked in the previous 2 years.
  • Over 90% of older workers felt very satisfied or satisfied with their current position despite the fact that more than 40% found that position to be either "quite a bit" or "extremely" stressful.
  • There is a significant difference between older workers and the general working age population in the proportion working as paid employees versus those who were self-employed.
  • Self-employed older workers have a larger percentage at the lowest income level, but, unlike the other categories, the self-employed also have a larger percentage at the very highest earning category.
  • Of the older workers who were unemployed, nearly half (48%) believed that their unemployment would not affect the timing of their retirement and they would still retire as planned. Twenty-seven percent (27%) believed they would retire sooner due to their unemployment, and 25% believed their retirement plans would be delayed.
  • Over twelve percent of the Older Workers (657,000 Canadians) reported having lost a job due to displacement (a job loss due to layoff, plant/business closure or downsizing) since the age of 50.
  • Eighty-two percent (82%) of older workers who looked for work right after their displacement found employment.
  • Of those who returned to work after their displacement, almost half reported earning significantly less (at least 25% less) than their previous position.
  • Of those older workers who were currently working and never retired (roughly 78% of the SOW sample), over half (54%) indicated plans to continue working part-time after retirement.
  • One third of older workers are unclear as to the requirements surrounding the relationship between labour force status and access to their CPP / QPP benefits
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