Canada to Start Collecting Race Data in July’s Employment Report

(Bloomberg) -- Statistics Canada will start gathering labor force data by race beginning with its July employment report.

Unlike the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the U.S., Statistics Canada’s monthly labor force survey doesn’t track employment conditions by visible minority status, though it does include data on immigrants and more recently, figures on indigenous Canadians. Income and jobs data by race is collected every five years through the national census.

“The collection of information disaggregated by race and visible minority status will add to the LFS’s ability to provide insights on populations of interest and assist in making evidence-based decisions in support of the recovery,” Martin Magnan, a spokesman at Statistics Canada, said Thursday by email.

In the statement, Magnan acknowledged the social, economic and labor market impacts of Covid-19 have not been felt equally by all groups of Canadians. The July employment report is scheduled to be released Aug. 7.

Because this marks the first time Statistics Canada is collecting such data, the agency said it will require additional time for quality analysis and therefore the results may not be ready by August 7.

“Although we are hopeful, it is unknown if we will be able to release the race data on same day as the official LFS release,” Magnan said.

The agency is also developing statistical techniques to allow it to disaggregate data by race in previously released numbers.

According to the 2016 census, South Asians are the largest visible minority in the country, followed by Chinese and black Canadians.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.