Tourism Employment Tracker
The Labour Force Survey (LFS), conducted by Statistics Canada, is the source of monthly employment estimates for Canadian industries. The monthly LFS sample size is approximately 56,000 households, covering 100,000 individuals.
Tourism HR Canada receives customized LFS tables that follow the Tourism Satellite Account’s definition of tourism. This allows Tourism HR Canada to track employment and unemployment in the tourism sector and compare it with the overall economy. This customized LFS data, publicly available LFS data, and other data sources on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and mobility were used to develop the following month-by-month charts.
In addition to this ongoing tracking, we summarize the key points each month. You can receive these updates by subscribing to our bi-weekly newsletter, Tourism HR Insider.
Note: Tourism HR Canada’s customized labour force survey data is seasonally unadjusted. Therefore, comparisons to the overall employment and unemployment rates also utilize unadjusted data. For that reason, total employment and unemployment numbers may differ from those reported elsewhere.
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Tourism Employment
Chart 1 tracks the total number of individuals employed in Canada’s tourism sector for each month and compares it to monthly employment in 2019. Users can select data for Canada or each province at the right-hand side of the chart. Additional graphs can be selected using the arrow at the bottom of the chart window. Graph two shows the month-over-month change in employment (blue bars) and the year-to-date change in employment compared to December 2019 (orange bars). Graph three breaks out the month-over-month change in employment by employment type (full-time or part-time).
Chart 1: Tourism Employment by Province
Chart 2 displays the same employment information but for each of the five industry groups that make up the tourism sector. Additional graphs can be selected using the arrow at the bottom of the chart. Graph two shows the month-over-month change in employment (blue bars) and the year-to-date change in employment compared to December 2019 (orange bars). Graph three breaks out the month-over-month change in employment by employment type (full-time or part-time).
Chart 2: Tourism Employment by Industry Group
Please note that data for each industry group by province is available, but there is high variability in monthly industry group data at the provincial level. To request data, please email research@tourismhr.ca.
Unemployment Rate
Chart 3 displays the seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate for tourism and the overall labour force, comparing the pandemic and post-pandemic unemployment rates to the unemployment rate for 2019, nationally and by province. Monthly unemployment rates for each industry group are also available. Under normal circumstances, tourism’s unemployment rate trends downward as the summer season approaches.
Note that Canadians are only counted as unemployed if they are actively seeking another job. Unemployment by industry associates unemployed individuals with their former industry for one calendar year. After one year of unemployment, they are still considered unemployed, but are not classified by industry. Thus, in April 2021, tourism unemployment dropped as long-term unemployed tourism employees were reclassified.
Chart 3: Tourism Unemployment Rate
Entry and Exit from the Tourism Labour Force
Chart 4 tracks the total number of individuals entering or leaving the tourism labour force on a month-over-month basis. The tourism labour force is the total number of individuals who are employed in tourism plus the total number of unemployed individuals seeking work whose last job (within one calendar year) was in the tourism sector. The overall labour force number is important because it shows the total number of experienced tourism workers who are available to work in the sector. Decreases in the labour force can be due to either employment dropping (and those unemployed workers choosing not to seek work) or unemployed tourism workers finding jobs in other industries.
Chart 4: Workforce Entry and Exit
Total Actual Hours Worked
Chart 5 displays the total number of actual hours worked by tourism employees in each month and compares it to both 2020 and 2019.
Chart 5: Actual Hours Worked and Employment (Monthly)
Gross Domestic Product
Chart 6 shows total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from all sources for fourteen tourism-related industries. On average, the GDP from tourism spending is around 2.0% of Canada’s total GDP. However, that number is only from tourism activities (both domestic and international). It does not account for money spent by locals at tourism businesses like restaurants or recreation facilities. The following chart shows total GDP from all sources. It compares the monthly GDP for 2019 onward. Please note that there is a longer lag time to receive GDP data than labour force data.
The default setting shows total GDP across the entire Canadian economy. Users can select each of the tourism-related industries individually or select multiple industries using the CTRL or Command function to see the total GDP of those industries.
Chart 6: Gross Domestic Product (Monthly)
Employment by Demographic Groups
Chart 7 tracks male and female employment levels within tourism and its five industry groups.
Graph one in the series shows the total number of employed male and female workers by month since January 2019. Graph two shows the tourism employment share of the overall economy by gender.
Chart 7: Employment by Gender (Monthly)
Chart 8 tracks employment in tourism by age group using a logarithmic scale.
Graph one in the series shows the total number of employed tourism workers by age group for each month since January 2019. Graph two shows the size of the tourism labour force in each age category, the number of unemployed workers in each age category, and the unemployment rate by month. Graph three the tourism employment share of the overall economy by age group.
Chart 8: Employment by Age Category (Monthly)
Chart 9 tracks employment in tourism by immigrant status.
Graph one in the series shows the total number of immigrant and non-immigrant workers in tourism by month since January 2019.
Graph two shows the tourism employment share of the overall economy by immigrant status.
Chart 9: Employment by Immigration Status
Employment by Type of Geographic Region
Chart 10 tracks employment in tourism by the different types of geographic regions in Canada (urban, rural, etc.) using a logarithmic scale. Graph two in the series shows the size of the tourism labour force in each geographic region, the number of unemployed workers in each region, and the unemployment rate by month.
This data shows regions attached to a Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) or Census Agglomeration Area (CA) and those that are not. A CMA has a population of at least 100,000 and a CA has a population of at least 10,000.
Fringe areas have smaller populations and do not directly share a border with a CMA or CA, but are generally integrated with the CMA or CA (e.g., small bedroom communities). Rural areas associated to a CMA are similar.
Small population centres are outside of a CMA or CA and have populations of 1,000 to 10,000. Rural areas are sparsely populated areas, including small towns and villages. They can be classified as attached to a CMA/CA (e.g., close by) or unattached.
Chart 10: Employment by Type of Geographic Region
Economic Indicators
Underlying the employment trends are a number of economic indicators. In Chart 14, graphs one to four show data drawn from Statistics Canada’s data on travel between Canada and other countries. Graph one shows the number of non-resident travellers entering Canada (from the U.S. and from all other countries), which includes all travellers crossing the border who are travelling to Canada for a period of less than 12 months. Graph two shows the number of tourists entering Canada. International tourists are a subset of travellers, whose trip includes one or more overnight stays. Graphs three and four compare the number of travellers and tourists from the U.S. and from other countries. Graph five shows the percentage of travellers to Canada who are tourists.
Graphs six and seven show data drawn from the monthly operating statistics of major Canadian airlines. The graphs show airlines’ total operating revenues and the total number of passengers per month, both of which have dropped precipitously. Graph eight shows the number of aircraft movements at airports with NAV Canada towers. Aircraft movement data is more current than data for operating revenue and monthly passenger movements. The final graph shows the total number of sales at food service and drinking establishments in Canada by month and region.
Chart 11: Economic Indicators
Additional Tourism Resources
Monthly Canadian Tourism Labour Market Snapshots
- 2020: March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, Noember, December
- 2021: January, February, March, April, May, June-August, September, October, November, December
- 2022: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
- 2023: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
- 2024: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
- 2025: January, February, March, April
This project is funded by the Government of Canada’s Sectoral Initiatives Program
The opinions and interpretations in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Canada.
Source: Adapted from Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.