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Photo: User:Florian Fuchs · CC BY 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 03 of 12 · Country Index 2026
Canada: Work & Labour
Can people find work, and on what terms?
Canada is placed 36th of 182 countries on work & labour in the Country Index 2026, from 4 of its 4 key statistics. Readings behind it: Employment-to-Population Ratio 60.06 (2025); Labour Income Share 58.7 (2025).
Work & Labour
36th
of 182 countries placed
Placed from 4 of 4 key statistics
01The evidence
The 4 key statistics that decide it
Only these place Canada on work & labour — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used; the grey ticks are every other country in that edition, lowest on the left.
Key 1 of 4
Employment-to-Population Ratio
International Labour Organization (ILO)
Why it is a key: How much of the working-age population is actually in work — the half of the picture unemployment hides, because people who stop looking stop being counted.
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY 4.0
60.06
Employed share of the population aged 15+ (%)
Higher is better
Canada: 60.06. Across the 182 countries in this edition, values run from 21.21 (São Tomé and Príncipe) to 86.9 (Qatar); the world median is 57.72.
- World median
- 57.72
- Best in Northern America
- 60.06 Canada
- Land neighbours
- United States 59.11
Each grey tick is one of 182 countries in the 2025 edition.
Key 3 of 4
Unemployment Rate
International Labour Organization (ILO)
Why it is a key: The share of people looking for work who cannot find it.
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY 4.0
6.907
Unemployment (% of labour force)
Lower is better
Canada: 6.907. Across the 182 countries in this edition, values run from 0.13 (Qatar) to 34.2 (Eswatini); the world median is 5.084.
- World median
- 5.084
- Best in Northern America
- 4.198 United States
- Land neighbours
- United States 4.198
Each grey tick is one of 182 countries in the 2025 edition.
Key 4 of 4
Vulnerable Employment
International Labour Organization (ILO)
Why it is a key: How much work is own-account or unpaid family labour, carrying no contract and no protection.
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY 4.0
9.555
Vulnerable employment (% of total employment)
Lower is better
Canada: 9.555. Across the 182 countries in this edition, values run from 0.456 (Qatar) to 90.22 (Chad); the world median is 28.67.
- World median
- 28.67
- Best in Northern America
- 3.81 United States
- Land neighbours
- United States 3.81
Each grey tick is one of 182 countries in the 2025 edition.
02Over time
Which way Canada is moving
Each key’s published value, edition by edition, beside the world median. The Country Index 2026 is the first edition of the standing, so the standing itself has no history to chart yet.
Employment-to-Population Ratio
Employed share of the population aged 15+ (%) · higher is better
CanadaWorld median
Canada fell from 60.83 in 2000 to 60.06 in 2025; the world median went from 55.86 to 57.72.
Every year’s figures
Year Canada World median 2025 60.06 57.720 2024 60.63 57.694 2023 61.82 58.158 2022 61.80 57.688 2021 60.29 56.066 2020 57.91 55.691 2019 62.07 57.871 2018 61.72 56.911 2017 61.56 56.738 2016 61.02 56.845 2015 61.31 56.788 2014 61.39 56.774 2013 61.79 56.229 2012 61.64 56.289 2011 61.51 56.297 2010 61.27 56.212 2009 61.29 56.255 2008 63.04 57.308 2007 62.98 56.933 2006 62.49 56.685 2005 62.22 56.129 2004 62.24 55.465 2003 62.03 55.630 2002 61.30 55.843 2001 60.69 56.018 2000 60.83 55.861 Labour Income Share
Labour income share of GDP (%) · higher is better
CanadaWorld median
Canada fell from 60.09 in 2004 to 58.7 in 2025; the world median went from 46.01 to 46.23.
Every year’s figures
Year Canada World median 2025 58.697 46.230 2024 59.020 46.060 2023 58.495 45.900 2022 56.720 45.615 2021 58.753 45.433 2020 61.580 47.267 2019 60.550 46.277 2018 60.471 46.187 2017 59.920 46.467 2016 60.906 46.798 2015 62.050 46.876 2014 60.055 47.281 2013 61.041 46.887 2012 61.055 46.231 2011 60.114 45.679 2010 61.048 46.024 2009 63.188 47.071 2008 60.247 45.312 2007 60.681 45.246 2006 60.003 45.670 2005 59.567 46.265 2004 60.092 46.012 Unemployment Rate
Unemployment (% of labour force) · lower is better
CanadaWorld median
Canada rose from 6.829 in 2000 to 6.907 in 2025; the world median went from 6.918 to 5.084.
Every year’s figures
Year Canada World median 2025 6.91 5.08 2024 6.35 5.15 2023 5.42 5.21 2022 5.28 5.34 2021 7.53 6.04 2020 9.66 6.38 2019 5.69 5.36 2018 5.84 5.35 2017 6.43 5.59 2016 7.04 5.90 2015 6.95 6.41 2014 7.02 6.58 2013 7.14 6.71 2012 7.39 6.79 2011 7.64 6.90 2010 8.18 7.04 2009 8.46 6.67 2008 6.28 5.79 2007 6.16 6.00 2006 6.48 6.50 2005 6.76 7.09 2004 7.19 6.80 2003 7.57 6.95 2002 7.67 6.91 2001 7.22 6.96 2000 6.83 6.92 Vulnerable Employment
Vulnerable employment (% of total employment) · lower is better
CanadaWorld median
Canada fell from 10.58 in 2000 to 9.555 in 2025; the world median went from 35.67 to 28.67.
Every year’s figures
Year Canada World median 2025 9.555 28.67 2024 9.623 29.04 2023 9.468 29.33 2022 9.784 29.67 2021 10.112 30.01 2020 11.028 30.54 2019 10.567 29.98 2018 10.607 30.15 2017 10.520 29.93 2016 10.517 29.91 2015 10.474 30.26 2014 10.534 30.47 2013 10.584 31.14 2012 10.581 31.00 2011 10.557 31.41 2010 10.688 32.37 2009 10.927 32.59 2008 10.362 31.76 2007 10.372 33.47 2006 10.153 34.27 2005 10.234 34.66 2004 10.172 35.51 2003 10.296 35.90 2002 10.069 35.96 2001 9.978 35.27 2000 10.582 35.67
03In context
Canada beside its neighbours
A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 182 countries on work & labour, never a place within the region.
1st182ndNot placed · 42 countries with too few key statisticsNo data
Canada and the countries it borders
The standing is each country’s place among all 182 placed on the topic; the other columns are the publishers’ own values, read at the edition the standing used.
| Country | Standing | Employment-to-Population RatioEmployed share of the population aged 15+ (%) | Labour Income ShareLabour income share of GDP (%) | Unemployment RateUnemployment (% of labour force) | Vulnerable EmploymentVulnerable employment (% of total employment) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 United States | 14th | 59.11 | 55.81 | 4.198 | 3.81 |
| Canada | 36th | 60.06 | 58.7 | 6.907 | 9.555 |
“—” means the publisher gives no reading for that country in that edition. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed.
Across Northern America
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 182.
Placed either side on work & labour
The countries immediately above and below Canada in the topic’s list.
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04Context, no vote
Where Canada is ahead of the world, and behind
15 more statistics filed under work & labour, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.
Ahead of the world median7
Statistics on which Canada does better than the middle country measured.
Labour Productivity per Hour WorkedILO · 2025 · world median 22.1669.7622.16No real change since 2015
Canada: 69.76 · world median 22.16 · Output per hour worked (constant 2021 international $ at PPP). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.92 to 164.65; higher is better.
Position 23rd of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
GDP per Person EmployedWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median 47,384113,56347,384No real change since 2015
Canada: 113,563 · world median 47,384 · GDP per person employed (constant 2021 international $). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 2,456 to 262,554; higher is better.
Position 26th of 168 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Trade Union DensityILO · 2020 · world median 16.6829.3916.68No earlier reading
Canada: 29.39 · world median 16.68 · Employees who are trade union members (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2020 edition, data for 2020.
Published values in that edition run from 0.2 to 91.42; higher is better.
Position 26th of 139 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Female Labour Force Participation RateILO · 2025 · world median 53.3660.253.36▼ Worsened since 2015
Canada: 60.2 · world median 53.36 · Women aged 15+ in the labour force (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 4.663 to 82.91; higher is better.
Position 49th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Firms with a Female Top ManagerWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median 19.1621.8919.16No earlier reading
Canada: 21.89 · world median 19.16 · Firms with a female top manager (%). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 1.429 to 62.9; higher is better.
Position 63rd of 179 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Labour Force Participation RateILO · 2025 · world median 61.6664.5261.66▼ Worsened since 2015
Canada: 64.52 · world median 61.66 · Population aged 15+ in the labour force (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 23.34 to 87.01; higher is better.
Position 68th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Youth Not in Education, Employment or TrainingILO · 2024 · world median 14.3112.9614.31▼ Worsened since 2014
Canada: 12.96 · world median 14.31 · Youth not in education, employment or training (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 3.975 to 65.73; lower is better.
Position 57th of 97 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Behind the world median2
Statistics on which Canada does worse than the middle country measured.
Youth Unemployment RateILO · 2025 · world median 12.8313.812.83▼ Worsened since 2015
Canada: 13.8 · world median 12.83 · Unemployment, ages 15-24 (% of youth labour force). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.457 to 76.77; lower is better.
Position 85th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Fatal Occupational InjuriesILO · 2023 · world median 2.0055.1982.005▼ Worsened since 2013
Canada: 5.198 · world median 2.005 · Fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 workers. International Labour Organization (ILO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.12 to 8.409; lower is better.
No better end6
These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.
Employment in ServicesILO · 2025 · world median 59.5180.1559.51No real change since 2015
Canada: 80.15 · world median 59.51 · Employment in services (% of total employment). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 11.56 to 92.17.
Position 19th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Public Sector EmploymentWorld Bank Group · 2022 · world median 15.0121.0315.01No earlier reading
Canada: 21.03 · world median 15.01 · Public sector employment (% of total employment). World Bank Group, 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 1.672 to 47.1.
Position 45th of 135 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Employment in IndustryILO · 2025 · world median 18.8818.7518.88Moved since 2015
Canada: 18.75 · world median 18.88 · Employment in industry (% of total employment). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 3.103 to 39.44.
Position 96th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Self-Employment RateILO · 2025 · world median 31.8412.9131.84Moved since 2015
Canada: 12.91 · world median 31.84 · Self-employed (% of total employment). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.832 to 91.56.
Position 150th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Average Weekly Hours WorkedILO · 2025 · world median 38.8931.8638.89Moved since 2015
Canada: 31.86 · world median 38.89 · Average weekly hours actually worked per employed person. International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 23.64 to 54.7.
Position 157th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Employment in AgricultureILO · 2025 · world median 14.381.10514.38No real change since 2015
Canada: 1.105 · world median 14.38 · Employment in agriculture (% of total employment). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.095 to 85.34.
Position 171st of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No current reading for Canada
Female Share of Senior and Middle Management, Informal Employment Rate and Working Poverty Rate. Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.
05Country Index 2026
Work & Labour among Canada’s 12 topics
Work & Labour is Canada’s 8th best-placed topic of 12. Strongest first; each marker sits at the position divided by that topic’s field, so fields of different sizes compare fairly.
- Governance & Institutions6th of 1935/5 keys
- Education & Knowledge13th of 1822/4 keys
- Democracy & Civil Liberties18th of 1983/3 keys
- Health & Wellbeing23rd of 2014/4 keys
- Gender & Equality21st of 1783/3 keys
- Peace & Securityjoint 24th of 1773/3 keys
- Economy & Innovation23rd of 1503/3 keys
- Work & Labour36th of 1824/4 keys
- Mobility & Connectivity30th of 1473/3 keys
- Development & Human Capital43rd of 1943/3 keys
- Risk & Resilience92nd of 1913/3 keys
- Environment & Sustainability104th of 1613/3 keys
06The top of the list
Who leads on work & labour
The three countries placed highest of 182, and the leaders Canada can most readily be measured against.
1
IcelandNorthern Europe
1st of 182 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: Hansueli Krapf · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2
JapanEastern Asia
2nd of 182 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: JurriaanH · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
3
South KoreaEastern Asia
3rd of 182 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: Unknown author · CC BY-SA 2.0, greyscale
Placed highest nearby
Highest in Americas
United States14th4/4 keysThis page
Canada36th4/4 keys
Positions out of 182 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.
07Analysis
Charts and analysis about Canada and work & labour
On work & labour
Countries in Asia with the highest average salaries 2024
Thirteen Asian countries by gross average monthly wage, each carrying its WORLD rank rather than an Asian one — so the numbers skip, from 11th place to 45th.
On work & labour
Countries With The Highest Average Salaries in 2024
The ten highest-paying countries of 2024, their bars coloured by continent, and six more added for comparison — from Australia in 13th place to India in 85th.
On work & labour
Countries With The Lowest Average Salaries in 2024
The bottom ten of 196 countries, and six more added for comparison. Niger, Madagascar and Liberia are all published at US$47 a month and still carry three different ranks.
08Questions
Canada on work & labour: questions answered
Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.
How does Canada rank on work & labour?
Canada is placed 36th of 182 countries on Work & Labour in the Country Index 2026, from 4 of its 4 key statistics (Employment-to-Population Ratio, Labour Income Share, Unemployment Rate and Vulnerable Employment). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.
What is the latest Employment-to-Population Ratio figure for Canada?
60.06 in 2025 (employed share of the population aged 15+ (%)), according to International Labour Organization (ILO). The world median in the same edition was 57.72.
What is the latest Labour Income Share figure for Canada?
58.7 in 2025 (labour income share of GDP (%)), according to International Labour Organization (ILO). The world median in the same edition was 46.23.
How does Canada compare with United States on work & labour?
United States is placed 14th of 182, and Canada 36th. Employment-to-Population Ratio: United States 59.11, Canada 60.06; Labour Income Share: United States 55.81, Canada 58.7; Unemployment Rate: United States 4.198, Canada 6.907; Vulnerable Employment: United States 3.81, Canada 9.555.
How have Canada’s work & labour figures changed?
Employment-to-Population Ratio fell from 60.83 in 2000 to 60.06 in 2025; Labour Income Share fell from 60.09 in 2004 to 58.7 in 2025; Unemployment Rate rose from 6.829 in 2000 to 6.907 in 2025; Vulnerable Employment fell from 10.58 in 2000 to 9.555 in 2025.
Which work & labour statistics are missing for Canada?
No current reading is published for Canada on Female Share of Senior and Middle Management, Informal Employment Rate and Working Poverty Rate. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.
09Keep reading
Explore further
Canada, topic by topic
- Governance & Institutions6th of 193
- Economy & Innovation23rd of 150
- Education & Knowledge13th of 182
- Health & Wellbeing23rd of 201
- Development & Human Capital43rd of 194
- Environment & Sustainability104th of 161
- Gender & Equality21st of 178
- Democracy & Civil Liberties18th of 198
- Peace & Security=24th of 177
- Risk & Resilience92nd of 191
- Mobility & Connectivity30th of 147
- The full Canada profile
Nearby, on work & labour
The key statistics, for every country
10Method
Method, sources and how to cite
What this topic does not measure
Wages in money terms are not a key here, because pay figures are hard to compare fairly across countries with very different prices. Labour productivity, working hours, youth unemployment and the balance between farming, industry and services are published on this page as context. The size and growth of the wider economy belong to Economy & Innovation.
How the Work & Labour standing is decided, step by step
A standing is a place in a list, not a mark out of anything. This one is part of the Country Index 2026, and it is worked out like this.
- A few key indicators decide it; the rest are context. 4 indicators on this topic are keys and 18 are charted alongside them without a vote. That split is the point: if every statistic voted, importing five more of one kind would quietly change what the topic is about.
- Each key is read at one edition. All of them describe 2025.
- Every country’s published value is turned into a place within that one key’s own field, and then expressed as a share of that field — how far down this key’s list the country sits, rather than how many countries are above it. Keys where a higher published number is worse (terrorism, hunger, disaster risk) are turned round first, so the good end is always the same end.
- Dividing by the field first is the whole reason this works. A place carries the size of its list inside it: 22nd of 44 and 108th of 215 are the same showing, and averaging the numbers 22 and 108 says loudly that they are not. Fields on this site run from about 44 countries to about 215, so averaging raw places would reward a country for happening to be measured in small ones. Dividing each place by its own field removes the size and leaves only the showing.
- The shares are averaged, plainly. One key, one vote — no key is weighted above another, because any weighting would be this site’s opinion presented as a measurement. Countries are then put in order by that average, and the average itself is never published. It is our arithmetic with nothing anchoring it, so printing it would invite it to be read as a measurement somebody made. The position it produces, the band, and the keys it was built from are all published instead — every one of them checkable against the tables on this page.
- A country needs 2 of this topic’s 4 keys — half, rounded up, and never fewer than 2. A standing built from one reading, printed beside one built from four, is two different things sharing a column heading. 182 countries clear the bar here.
- A key has to earn its vote every edition. It must measure at least 120 countries (below that it starts measuring who was surveyed rather than the world), it must not have more than 10% of its field tied at either end, and it must not repeat another key in the same topic — Spearman correlation above 0.92 counts as repeating. A topic needs at least 2 surviving keys to place anyone at all; this one has 4.
- A standing is relative, and the grouping is ours. It says where a country places against the others measured alongside it, so it moves when they move. The publishers listed on this page did not agree to be read together, and each measures its subject its own way: the underlying numbers are theirs, the ordering on top is this site’s — the same method as the rest of the Country Index, applied to one subject instead of all of them.
The key statistics and their licences
- Employment-to-Population Ratio — International Labour Organization (ILO), CC BY 4.0
- Labour Income Share — International Labour Organization (ILO), CC BY 4.0
- Unemployment Rate — International Labour Organization (ILO), CC BY 4.0
- Vulnerable Employment — International Labour Organization (ILO), CC BY 4.0
The other 15 statistics on this page come from 2 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.
The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photographs
Canada’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Canada (banner) — User:Florian Fuchs, CC BY 3.0
- Iceland — Hansueli Krapf, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Japan — JurriaanH, CC BY-SA 3.0
- South Korea — Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Canada: Work & Labour — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/canada/work