The Labour Force Survey (LFS), conducted by Statistics Canada, collects standard labour market indicators and is a major source of information on the working-age population in all provinces. Tourism HR Canada reviews the estimates available for tourism industries monthly and annually.
Labour Force Survey 2024
Given the seasonal nature of tourism, with employment naturally rising and falling throughout the year, it can be challenging to distinguish between regular seasonal changes and the lasting effects of economic, political, and social changes across the workforce. This is where the annual LFS data becomes essential: it enables comparisons between 2024 and previous years to identify trends that go beyond typical seasonal variations.
This report presents an analysis of the 2024 annual LFS statistics, covering labour force size, employment, unemployment, and wages at the national, provincial, industry, and demographic levels. A comparison with the 2023 and 2019 LFS statistics was also conducted to analyze changes and trends over time.
Table of Contents
Tourism Labour Force and Employment
Annual Average Employment by Industry
Annual Average Employment by Province
Unemployment
Annual Average Unemployment by Industry
Annual Average Unemployment by Province
Monthly Unemployment Rate (Tourism vs. Total Labour Force)
Annual Unemployment Rate (Tourism vs. Total Labour Force) 2005 – 2024
Average Hourly Wage Rate
Average Hourly Wage Rate by Province
Average Hourly Wage Rate by Occupation
Median Hourly Wage Rate
Median Hourly Wage Rate by Province
Median Hourly Wage Rate by Occupation
Demographics Analysis
Employment
Unemployment Rate
Average Hourly Wage Rate
Median Hourly Wage Rate
Tourism Labour Force and Employment
Although COVID-19 is rarely mentioned in daily conversations today and is often considered a thing of the past, its impact on tourism employment remains evident, even as employment across the entire economy has recovered.
While the total labour force across all sectors rebounded in 2021 and has grown by 7.9% from 2021 to 2024, the tourism labour force continues to face challenges in its recovery. Its share of the total labour force has been declining. In 2019, tourism represented 10.9% of the total labour force; this percentage dropped significantly in 2020. Although there has been gradual growth since then, it reached only 9.9% in 2024, slightly below the 10.1% recorded in 2023.
In 2024, employment across all sectors had increased by 8.7% compared to 2019. However, employment in tourism (including all five tourism industries) remained below pre-pandemic levels. This suggests that many previously unemployed individuals chose jobs in other sectors instead of returning to tourism, making it more challenging for tourism businesses to attract workers.
• The overall Canadian labour force grew by 7.9% from 2019 to 2024. However, tourism labour force has declined by 0.8% since 2019.
• While employment across all sectors in 2024 was 8.7% higher than in 2019, tourism employment in 2024 was 1.5% lower than in 2019.
Annual Average Employment by Industry
At the national level, the lasting impacts of recent disruptions continued to affect three of the five tourism industries—accommodations, food and beverage services, and travel services—as their employment levels had yet to recover to 2019 levels.
• Nationally, the travel services industry remained the hardest hit, with employment still 31.5% below 2019 levels¹. However, at the provincial level, Quebec experienced a 10% increase in employment within the travel services industry since 2019.
• Nationally, employment in the accommodations industry declined by 21.4% between 2019 and 2024. Saskatchewan (-46.2%) and Manitoba (-36.8%) experienced the largest decline among all provinces. In contrast, Prince Edward Island (+9.1%) and Nova Scotia (+36.4%) saw employment growth in the accommodations industry.
• Nationally, employment in the food and beverage services industry declined by 4.2%. Most provinces experienced decreases, with the largest drops observed in Newfoundland and Labrador (-12.0%) and Manitoba (-11.2%). Alberta was the only province to see growth in this industry, with an increase of 8.8%.
• Nationally, employment in the recreation and entertainment industry increased by 8.9%, and the transportation industry grew by 5.5% compared to 2019. Although most provinces experienced growth, Newfoundland and Labrador saw an 8.3% decline in recreation and entertainment employment, while transportation employment dropped by 14.3% in New Brunswick and 12.0% in Alberta.
Compared to 2023, employment increased nationally in three tourism industries: food and beverage services (+2.8%), transportation (+3.0%), and recreation and entertainment (+3.1%). However, employment in the travel services and accommodations industries declined by 4.6% and 6.3%, respectively.
• Although national employment in the travel services industry declined by 4.6%, it increased in Quebec (+4.2%) and Alberta (+20.0%) between 2023 and 2024.
• Although national employment in the accommodations industry declined by 6.3%, it rose significantly in Alberta (+18.6%) and Nova Scotia (+42.9%) from 2023 to 2024. In contrast, Manitoba experienced a significant drop of 41.5% in this industry during the same period.
• Although employment in the food and beverage services industry increased by 2.8% nationally, it declined in Newfoundland and Labrador (-6.4%) and British Columbia (-4.3%). Prince Edward Island experienced the largest growth in this industry (+25.0%).
• Although national employment in the transportation industry grew by 3.0%, it declined in Alberta (-4.8%) and Nova Scotia (-2.5%). Notably, employment in this industry in Prince Edward Island doubled.
• While employment in the recreation and entertainment industry increased by 3.1% nationally, it declined in three provinces, including Newfoundland and Labrador (-6.4%), Nova Scotia (-4.3%), and Quebec (-1.6%). Prince Edward Island experienced the largest growth in this industry (+14.3%).
Annual Average Employment by Province
By 2024, four provinces had fully recovered to or surpassed their 2019 employment levels: British Columbia (0.7%), Nova Scotia (3.9%), Alberta (5.3%), and Prince Edward Island (9.6%). In contrast, Newfoundland and Labrador experienced the largest employment decline (-11.5%) compared to pre-pandemic levels, followed by Saskatchewan (-8.9%), Ontario (-4.3%), and Manitoba (-1.9%). Quebec (-1.5%) and New Brunswick (-1.2%) recorded the smallest employment losses among all provinces.
Compared to 2023, tourism employment increased in most provinces, except for Newfoundland and Labrador (-2.9%) and British Columbia (-0.6%). Prince Edward Island led tourism employment growth with a 15.2% increase, followed by Nova Scotia (+8.6%) and Alberta (+7.6%). Ontario saw the smallest growth in tourism employment, rising only 0.7% over the past year.
Unemployment
The unemployment rate represents the percentage of the labour force that is actively seeking employment but is currently without a job. It is a critical economic indicator for evaluating the overall health of the Canadian economy.
Annual Average Unemployment by Industry
For the overall economy, the unemployment rate in 2024 was 6.3%, up 0.6 percentage points from 2019. In tourism, the 2024 unemployment rate of 6.1% was 0.7 percentage points higher than in 2019. Among the five tourism industries, the transportation sector experienced a decline in unemployment compared to 2019, while accommodations, food and beverage services, and recreation and entertainment saw increases of 0.6, 0.7, and 1.0 percentage points, respectively. Limited data is available for travel services, preventing year-over-year comparisons for this industry group.
Compared to 2023, unemployment rates rose in both the overall economy (from 5.4% to 6.3%) and the tourism sector (from 5.3% to 6.1%). Following the same trend observed since 2019, unemployment rates increased across most tourism industries except transportation, where it decreased by 0.2 percentage points.
In 2024, the recreation and entertainment industry recorded the highest unemployment rate at 7.9%, while the transportation industry had the lowest at 2.5%.
Annual Average Unemployment by Province
In 2024, tourism unemployment rates in British Columbia (5.1%), Quebec (5.3%), Manitoba (5.3%), and Saskatchewan (5.4%) were lower than the national average of 6.1%.
When comparing tourism unemployment rates to those of the overall provincial economies, tourism unemployment was higher in the Atlantic provinces: Newfoundland and Labrador (10.5% vs. 10.0%), Nova Scotia (7.3% vs. 6.5%), New Brunswick (8.8% vs. 7.0%), and Prince Edward Island (9.9% vs. 8.0%).
Monthly Unemployment Rate (Tourism vs. Total Labour Force)
The national tourism unemployment rate dropped sharply in March and continued to decline over the following months, reaching its lowest point in September at 5.1%. After September, it generally rose through to December, despite a decrease between November and December. These low points coincide with periods of peak tourism demand, so it is unsurprising to find this pattern.
From June to December, tourism appeared to be performing better than the overall economy, as the tourism unemployment rate remained below the economy-wide rate during this period. At the provincial level, in New Brunswick, the tourism unemployment rate was higher than the overall unemployment rate for most of the year, except between June and August, when the two rates were nearly identical.
Annual Unemployment Rate (Tourism vs. Total Labour Force) 2005 – 2024
Between 2005 and 2008, the tourism unemployment rate closely mirrored that of the total economy. But starting from 2008, those rates diverged. The financial crisis drove up the unemployment rate in all sectors, but the tourism sector was less affected compared to the overall economy. For a decade after the financial crisis, tourism unemployment was consistently about a percentage point lower than the overall unemployment rate. That trend came to a crashing halt in 2020. Overall, the unemployment rate spiked to 9.7% (higher than at the height of the financial crisis), whereas tourism unemployment soared to 17.2%. In most provinces, the tourism unemployment rates were unprecedented. In 2024, national unemployment rates for both the overall economy and the tourism sector rose compared to 2023, although they remained generally lower than historical levels.
From 2006 to 2024, the tourism unemployment rate in Prince Edward Island consistently remained higher than the overall unemployment rate. However, the gap between the two has narrowed compared to the previous five years since 2019.
Average Hourly Wage Rate
The following section presents an analysis of the average hourly wage rate.
Average Hourly Wage Rate by Province
Between 2023 and 2024, the average hourly wage rate rose by 4.9% across the entire national economy, while the tourism sector saw a 4.2% increase during the same period. Although the national average hourly wage growth in the tourism sector was lower than that of the overall economy, several provinces saw higher wage growth in tourism compared to the broader economy. These provinces included Newfoundland and Labrador (9.8% vs. 4.7%), Quebec (4.8% vs. 4.5%), Ontario (5.3% vs. 5.2%), Manitoba (5.0% vs. 3.4%), and Saskatchewan (6.1% vs. 3.2%).
The growth in average hourly wages within the tourism sector varied across provinces. In Alberta (+0.9%), Nova Scotia (+2.2%), and British Columbia (+3.5%), wage increases were below the national average. Interestingly, despite the modest growth in the tourism sector, Nova Scotia saw the largest overall wage growth across the entire economy among all provinces, with a 6.7% increase compared to 2023. In the tourism sector, Newfoundland and Labrador saw the most substantial wage growth, with an increase of 9.8% from the previous year.
In 2024, British Columbia had the highest average hourly wage rates for both the overall economy ($36.65/hour) and the tourism sector ($28.16/hour) among all provinces, while Prince Edward Island had the lowest for both categories, with $29.56/hour for the total economy and $20.37/hour for the tourism sector. The wage gap between the tourism sector and the overall economy was largest in Alberta (-34.8%), Saskatchewan (-33.4%), and Ontario (-32.6%). In contrast, the smallest wage gaps were observed in Quebec (-25.1%), Manitoba (-24.0%), and British Columbia (-23.2%).
Average Hourly Wage Rate by Occupation
The change in the average hourly wage rate in the tourism sector from 2023 varied significantly across different occupations. The top five tourism occupations with the highest wage growth included conference and event planners (+36.8%), deck officers, water transport (+32.2%), sales and account representatives – wholesale trade (non-technical) (+26.9%), accommodation service managers (+26.6%), and recreation, sports, and fitness program and service directors (+25.0%). Conversely, some tourism occupations experienced declines in average hourly wages, with the most notable decreases seen among supervisors, motor transport and other ground transit operators (-21.8%), conservators and curators (-16.3%), and ground and water transport ticket agents, cargo service representatives, and related clerks (-10.7%). It is important to note that data for certain tourism occupations were suppressed, making comparisons unavailable for those roles.
In 2024, human resources managers earned the highest average hourly wage in both the overall economy ($62.19/hour) and the tourism sector ($57.92/hour), while cashiers had the lowest average hourly wage in both categories, with $17.00/hour in the overall economy and $16.74/hour in the tourism sector. Although most occupations tend to have lower wages in tourism compared to the overall economy, some roles see higher earnings within the tourism sector. For example, retail sales supervisors earned 18.8% more in tourism, service station attendants made 16.9% more, and air transport ramp attendants earned 6.6% more. Conversely, certain occupations had significantly lower wages in tourism, including receptionists (-18.2%), human resources professionals (-15.9%), and advertising, marketing, and public relations managers (-15.1%) compared to their counterparts in other sectors.
Median Hourly Wage Rate
According to Statistics Canada, the median wage is often preferred over the average wage, as it is less influenced by extreme or outlier values, making it a more accurate representation of typical wages within an occupation. For this reason, an analysis of median hourly wages was conducted for a more comprehensive understanding. In this data set under discussion, reported averages wages were generally higher than median wages, indicating that there were more lower-paid employees than higher-paid ones. This is likely at least partly a reflection of the relatively younger workforce in tourism than in the economy overall.
Median Hourly Wage Rate by Province
From 2023 to 2024, the median hourly wage rate increased by 4.2% across the national economy, while it grew by only 2.6% in the tourism sector—a significantly smaller increase. Despite the lower national growth in tourism, most provinces experienced higher median wage growth in tourism compared to the overall economy, with the exceptions of Quebec (5.0% vs. 5.4%) and Alberta (0.0% vs. 2.6%).
The rise in median hourly wages within the tourism sector varied across provinces. Notably, Alberta’s median hourly wage remained unchanged from 2023, while all other provinces experienced increases that surpassed the national average. Saskatchewan (+6.3%) and Ontario (+6.1%) saw the most substantial growth in tourism sector median wages compared to 2023.
In 2024, British Columbia had the highest median hourly wage rates for both the overall economy ($31.25/hour) and the tourism sector ($23.00/hour). In contrast, Nova Scotia had the lowest median hourly wage rate for the overall economy ($25.64/hour), while Saskatchewan had the lowest for the tourism sector ($17.00/hour). The gap between the tourism sector’s median wage and the overall economy’s median wage was largest in Saskatchewan (-40.4%), Alberta (-38.3%), and Newfoundland and Labrador (-34.8%). Meanwhile, the smallest wage gaps were observed in Nova Scotia (-29.8%), Quebec (-28.8%), and British Columbia (-26.4%).
Median Hourly Wage Rate by Occupation
The change in the median hourly wage rate in the tourism sector from 2023 varied notably across different occupations. The top five tourism occupations with the highest growth in median hourly wages included retail sales supervisors (+30.0%), deck officers, water transport (+29.4%), conference and event planners (+20.7%), sales and account representatives – wholesale trade (non-technical) (+20.0%), and cleaning supervisors (+17.5%). Conversely, some tourism occupations experienced declines in their median hourly wage rates, with the most significant drops seen among supervisors, motor transport and other ground transit operators (-26.6%), conservators and curators (-22.1%), and shippers and receivers (-14.5%). Again, it is important to note that data for certain tourism occupations were suppressed, making comparisons unavailable for those roles.
In 2024, human resources managers had the highest median hourly wage rate in both the overall economy ($59.05/hour) and the tourism sector ($56.00/hour), while cashiers earned the lowest median hourly wage in both categories, at $16.50/hour. Although most occupations have lower median wages in tourism compared to the broader economy, certain roles pay more within the tourism sector. For example, retail sales supervisors earned 38.9% more in tourism, service station attendants earned 20.8% more, and air transport ramp attendants earned 16.7% more compared to their counterparts in other sectors. On the other hand, some occupations had significantly lower median wages in tourism, including receptionists (-22.2%), general office support workers (-21.0%), and library, archive, museum, and art gallery managers (-20.2%) compared to the overall economy.
Demographics Analysis
This section provides a demographic analysis of employment, unemployment rates, and wages.
Employment
The tourism workforce is predominantly young. In 2024, more than half (54.7%) of those employed in the tourism sector were aged between 15 and 34 years, including 32.8% aged 15 to 24 and 21.9% aged 25 to 34. This trend is especially pronounced in the food and beverage industry, where nearly 70% of workers were within the 15 to 34 age range, and nearly half (46.1%) were aged 15 to 24.
In 2024, the gender distribution in the tourism sector was fairly balanced², with 52.1% men+ and 47.9% women+, closely mirroring the overall economy’s split of 52.8% men+ and 47.2% women+. Among the five tourism industries, transportation was predominantly male dominated (75.2% men+), whereas the travel services industry employed significantly more women+ (71.6%) than men+. The remaining three tourism industries showed a relatively even gender distribution.
In 2024, the tourism workforce included a slightly higher proportion of landed immigrants³ (29.5%) than the overall economy (27.8%). Notably, the transportation (41.5%), accommodations (35.4%), and travel services (38.5%) industries employed a particularly high share of landed immigrants. In contrast, only 19.2% of workers in the recreation and entertainment industry were landed immigrants.
Unemployment Rate
In 2024, the unemployment rate was highest among the 15-24 age group for both the overall economy and the tourism sector. This rate was especially elevated in the accommodations industry, reaching 15.2%. Compared to the overall economy, tourism experienced lower unemployment rates across most age groups, except for those aged 35 to 44 and 65 and older, where tourism unemployment was higher.
Please note that unemployment rate data was unavailable for the travel services industry; therefore, this industry is excluded from the following graphs.
In 2024, women+ experienced a notably high unemployment rate in the accommodations industry (8.1%), while men+’s unemployment rate was especially high in the recreation and entertainment industry (9.0%).
In 2024, while landed immigrants faced higher unemployment rates than Canadian-born individuals⁴ in the overall economy, the tourism sector showed the opposite trend. Notably, in the accommodations industry, those born in Canada had a significantly higher unemployment rate (10.5%) compared to landed immigrants (4.4%). Generally, unemployment rates for landed immigrants were lower than for Canadian-born workers across most tourism industries, with the exception of the recreation and entertainment industry.
Average Hourly Wage Rate
In both the overall economy and the tourism sector, average hourly wages generally rise with age, peaking among workers aged 45 to 54, then declining for older age groups. In 2024. the wage gap between the tourism sector and the overall economy was narrowest among the youngest workers (15-24 years old) with a 12.7% difference, and widest for seniors (65+ years old), where the gap reached 24.5%.
In 2024, men+ earned higher average hourly wages than women+ in both the overall economy and the tourism sector. However, the wage gap between men+ and women+ was
narrower in tourism, with a difference of $4.10 per hour, compared to a larger gap of $4.73 per hour in the overall economy.
In 2024, the average hourly wage rates of landed immigrants were generally similar to those of Canadian-born workers in both the overall economy and the tourism sector. Notably, while landed immigrants earned slightly less than Canadian-born workers on average in the entire economy, they actually earned more than Canadian-born workers within the tourism sector.
Median Hourly Wage Rate
In 2024, median hourly wage rates increased with age for both the overall economy and the tourism sector, but the peak ages differed slightly: the overall economy peaked at the 35–44 age group, while the tourism sector peaked at the 44–54 age group. After these peaks, median wages decreased for older age groups. The wage gap between the tourism sector and the overall economy was smallest among the youngest workers (15–24 years old) with a 9.6% difference, and largest for the 25–34 age group, where the gap widened to 27.9%.
In 2024, men+’s median hourly wage rate exceeded that of women+ in both the overall economy and the tourism sector. However, the gender wage gap was notably smaller in the tourism sector, with a difference of about $2 per hour, compared to a $4 per hour gap in the overall economy.
In 2024, landed immigrants had a lower median hourly wage rate compared to those born in Canada across the entire economy. However, in the tourism sector, landed immigrants’ median hourly wage rate was slightly higher than that of Canadian-born workers.
¹As noted in the monthly LFS reports, the past year or so has seen some extreme fluctuations in the reported data for travel services, due in large part to the small size of this industry relative to the sample size of the survey; we have cautioned that these figures should be viewed with some skepticism. While the annual averages presented here will go some way towards correcting those month-to-month deviations, the cautions should still be heeded, as the relative size difference is still a factor.
² Statistics Canada recently began classifying certain nonbinary identities as either male or female for aggregate statistical reporting purposes. The plus symbol (+) used here denotes that data uses this new classification system, making it not directly comparable to earlier measures.
³ This category includes persons who are, or who have ever been, landed immigrants or permanent residents. Such persons have been granted the right to live in Canada permanently by immigration authorities. Immigrants who have obtained Canadian citizenship by naturalization are included in this category.
⁴ This category consists of persons who are Canadian citizens by birth.
Source: The information presented here is drawn from Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey. It shows rates of unemployment in Canada’s tourism sector by province and by industry group. The data is seasonally unadjusted to allow comparisons between the tourism sector and the overall economy. As such, monthly and annual numbers for Canada’s entire labour force will differ from the seasonally adjusted numbers that are commonly reported.
Statistics Canada has introduced revisions to the historical Labour Force Survey (LFS) data that Tourism HR Canada uses for our labour market information reporting. Consequently, there may be slight variations between what is reported on the Statistics Canada site and our site, but the narrative of significant job losses remains unchanged.
Tourism HR Insider subscribers receive monthly estimates of employment and unemployment for each of tourism’s five industry groups and for each province. To sign up, click here.
You can also access detailed Labour Force Survey data by occupation and region through our Rapid reSearch tool, hosted on emerit.ca. Sign up for an account to gain access to the data.
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.