What is a Labour Market Needs Assessment:

In April 2022, our firm, Dunn Pierre Barnett and Company Canada Ltd., was contracted by the ACBN to conduct the first Rapid Black Labour Market Needs Assessment in Canada’s history. https://acbncanada.com/first-ever-labour-market-needs-assessment-for-black-businesses-in-canada-has-been-launched/

Ever since that day, people have been asking: What is a Labour Market Needs Assessment? For education purposes, we would try to explain the definition from the source, the International Labour Organisation (ILO):

The ILO describes a labour market assessment as ‘activities conducted to assess the future skills needs in the labour market in a strategic way, using consistent and systematic methods’ (ILO, 2015a). It gives information on occupations and industries within the labour market, such as job types, number of jobs, salaries, educational levels for occupations, workforce demographics, and the number of establishments in particular sectors.

It aims to provide information to all labour market actors about current and potential future skills needs, inefficiencies, imbalances, and constraints so that decisions can be made; measures developed and actions taken with a view to planning and correcting the issues, meeting the labour needs and ensuring value for money. It can be done at regional, national and/or sectoral levels.

The Labour market assessment helps to:

1. Determine high-potential growth sectors which may provide opportunities for entrepreneurs and new businesses
2. Identify opportunities where there is a present or anticipated demand for labour, including sectors and specific businesses.
3. Understand mismatch and gaps (including perceptions) of job seekers and employers
4. Identify constraints and opportunities in the wider market system, including:
5. Understanding the roles that informal and cultural norms (such as attitudes towards gender) may play in the job market
6. Determining the supporting services or functions (such as access to market information) that may enable individuals to find steady work

The assessment is determined through surveys, research, and publicly available sources, which give information on jobs and industries, etc., which help us understand the structural trends and demands within the economy.

Where do Black Canadians stand concerning the Labour market Assessment?

In over 40 years, Black leaders, Policy Makers, Universities, Non-profit organisations, Community and Political Leaders in Canada have never seen the significance of conducting a Labour Market Needs Assessment. This subject was the topic of discussion at an informal meeting at the last Black Canadian Summit in Nova Scotia https://www.blackcanadiansummit.ca/halifax-2022. The burning question was, why? Why has no one ever considered conducting such a critical study in 50 years?

According to the ILO, conducting a Labour Market Needs Assessment is the foundation of economic, social and community development in all developing countries. And there lies the problem: Canada is a Developed country; however, the 1.2 Million black people who live here, from a labour and economic perspective, are considered to be living in a Developing country. For example, most banks don’t give financing to Black Businesses. because most black businesses (86%) are really not small businesses but are Nano firms, and nano firms are self-financed.

Obtaining finance for black businesses is so critical that in 2021 the Federal Government had to develop its own funding program for black businesses. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/feds-unveil-400-million-investment-in-black-entrepreneurs-and-businesses, due to decades of systemic racism and discrimination. However, despite its racial history, there are special programs for assisting black people in the USA. For example, there are over 40 financial institutions that give funding to Black companies. However, only a few organisations such as the Business Development Bank https://www.bdc.ca/en and the FACE coalition https://facecoalition.com/ give funding to small black businesses. “Funding makes a difference.”

One of our goals in the Rapid Black Labour Market Needs Assessment was to compare all Black persons living in Canada as though they were living in a different country. This was achieved by using the ILO, ISIC codes. NAICS codes. https://siccode.com/page/what-is-an-isic-code (NAICS Codes) https://guides.library.utoronto.ca/c.php?g=250461&p=1670703#:~:text=NAICS%20(North%20American%20Industry%20Classification,when%20both%20countries%20adopted%20NAICS.

https://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p3VD.pl?Function=getVD&TVD=1181553

The study then compared Black people living in Canada with other Black people in other parts of the world based on UN Standards, and the conditions were similar.

The study also revealed (however, more in-depth analysis is needed): on the cost of racism to the Federal, Provincial and Municipal governments in Canada. For example, the Federal Government is losing Millions of dollars in taxes every year to the discrimination practices by employers who pay Black people, especially Black women lower salaries than white Canadians. This trend can also be seen in Mortgages; for example, only 7.9% of Black Canadians have a mortgage ( Black spouses). However, when you replace a black spouse with a white spouse, that percentage increases to 31.3%. The Provincial Governments and the Municipalities in Canada are also losing revenue due the racism from house taxes and other utilities.

Finally, let’s look at what Statistics Canada had to say about the Black Labour Market in Canada in 2021:

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, many Canadians, including Black Canadians, have experienced significant economic hardship, while others put themselves at risk through their work in essential industries such as health care and social assistance.

Statistics Canada is looking at how the 1 million Black Canadians aged 15 to 69 are faring in the labour market during one of the most disruptive times in our economic history. Analysis of the recent labour market situation of population groups designated as visible minorities is now possible as a result of a new question added to the Labour Force Survey (LFS) in July 2020.

A snapshot of Black Canadians today

Central Canada is home to over four-fifths of Black Canadians

Of the 1.0 million Black people aged 15 to 69 who were living in Canada in January 2021, four-fifths (79.5%) were in Ontario (0.5 million) and Quebec (0.3 million).

Over one-quarter of Black Canadians in this age group were born in Canada (27.1%), and two-thirds (66.3%) are immigrants. In comparison, almost three-quarters (73.6%) of all other Canadians who belong to population groups designated as visible minorities are immigrants.

The Black population in Canada is relatively young, as over four-fifths (85.8%) of 15- to 69-year-olds are younger than 55, compared with two-thirds (68.4%) among Canadians who are not a visible minority (see note to readers).

Black Canadians are more likely to hold a university degree than Canadians who are not a visible minority.

While having a university degree in Canada is generally associated with a higher employment rate and higher earnings, some groups may face barriers related to the accreditation of degrees earned overseas, skill mismatches or discrimination.

In January 2021, Black Canadians in the core-aged group of 25- to 54-year-olds were more likely to hold a bachelor’s degree or higher (42.8%) than Canadians in the same age group who were not a visible minority (33.6%). However, Black Canadians with a university degree had a lower employment rate (86.1%) than their non-visible minority counterparts (91.1%).

While Black men (43.3%) and women (42.3%) aged 25 to 54 were equally likely to have a university degree, a higher proportion of non-visible minority women had a university degree (39.1%) compared with non-visible minority men (28.4%).

Black and non-visible minority men are found in equal measure in the trades and in natural sciences but not at the management table

Black men worked across the economy and in a variety of occupations in January 2021.

A comparable share of employed Black and non-visible minority men worked as tradesmen, or transport or equipment operators (27.5% compared with 27.4%), and in natural and applied sciences (12.0% compared with 11.9%). Black men were about 40% less likely to work in management occupations than non-visible minority men (6.3% compared with 11.3%).

Employed Black women were also underrepresented in management occupations (4.3%) compared with non-visible minority women (6.9%).

Black Canadians are less likely to be self-employed

Some population groups face greater barriers to self-employment and entrepreneurship than others or are more concentrated in industries or occupations where this type of work is less common. Employed Black Canadians (9.1%) were less likely to be self-employed than non-visible minority Canadians (13.6%) overall in January 2021. At the same time, the self-employment rate among Black men (12.0%) was nearly twice as high as the rate for Black women (6.1%).

How are Black Canadians faring in the labour market during the pandemic?

Black Canadians face high unemployment during the pandemic

Differences in the unemployment rates of diverse groups of Canadians are attributable to a number of factors, including long-term trends, the age of the population and the unequal impact of COVID-19 on certain sectors of the economy.

Black Canadians experienced a higher unemployment rate than non-visible minority Canadians in the recent past. For example, 12.5% of Black Canadians in the labour force were unemployed at the time of the 2016 Census, compared with 6.9% of non-visible minority Canadians.

Experimental estimates from the LFS suggest that from January 2020 to January 2021, the unemployment rate increased more among Black Canadians (+5.3 percentage points) than among non-visible minority Canadians (+3.7 percentage points) in the context of the pandemic (monthly estimates).

In the three months ending in January 2021, the unemployment rate among Black Canadians (13.1%) was about 70% higher than that among non-visible minority Canadians (7.7%).

Black Canadians aged 25 to 54 also had a higher unemployment rate than non-visible minority Canadians in the same age group (9.4% versus 6.1%).

Black youth aged 15 to 24 have experienced high unemployment during the pandemic, as almost one-third of the labour force in this group (30.6%) was unemployed in January 2021 — almost twice the rate of non-visible minority youth (15.6%).

Nearly one-third of employed Black women are working in the health care and social assistance industry

While healthcare and social assistance workers have been at the forefront of Canada’s public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic, employment in this industry declined by 225,000 in March and April and returned to its pre-COVID-19 levels only in January 2021 (monthly estimate, seasonally adjusted).

Almost one-third of employed Black women (31.7%) worked in health care, and social assistance in January 2021, and over four-fifths (81.2%) of these women were immigrants. In comparison, just over one-fifth of non-visible minority women (22.9%) worked in this industry.

One-third of Black Canadians live in a household facing financial challenges

In January 2021, Black Canadians (33.2%) were almost twice as likely as non-visible minority Canadians (16.6%) to be living in a household, reporting that it had been difficult or very difficult to meet its basic financial commitments in the last four weeks.

Black Canadians working as paid employees made on average $26.70 an hour in January 2021, $3.92 less than non-visible minority Canadians, who earned $30.62 per hour.

Black mothers with young children less likely to participate in the labour market

Parents have faced a unique set of challenges during the pandemic because of school closures and their financial responsibility for dependents.

Among 25- to 54-year-olds, just over three-quarters of Black mothers with a child younger than 6 (75.9%) were active in the labour market in January 2021, compared with four-fifths (81.1%) of their non-visible minority counterparts.

In contrast, there was virtually no difference in the participation rate of Black (87.0%) and non-visible minority (88.0%) mothers whose youngest child was aged between 6 to 17.

A Labour Force Survey in Not a Labour Market Needs Assessment.

A National Black Labour Market Needs Assessment in Urgently needed in Canada.

First Ever Labour Market Needs Assessment for Black Businesses in Canada has been launched!

by Ryan KnightApr 22, 2022Annoucements0 comments

A penetrating analysis of the current status of Canadian Black labour to shine a light on the potential for Black empowerment in the labour force.

BRAMPTON, ON, CANADA, April 25, 2022/EINPresswire.com/ — A first-of-its-kind study is being launched by the Afro Caribbean Business Network commissioning the services of a Black, Canadian Research firm Dunn, Pierre, Barnett and Company Limited (DPBA). https://dpbglobal.com/ DPBA has been contracted to execute and conduct this study. This survey will collect pertinent information on the Black Labour Market in Ontario, providing insight into economic trends, employment rate, and the gaps in skills across all sectors by geographical areas and gender. The study will also involve collecting and analysing relevant statistical data and qualitative information regarding the Black Labour force in Southern Ontario. It will also review the black residential labour force, migration and statistical data related to regular and irregular labour migration to determine the link between the Black Labour Market and human resource planning, market needs and availability of skills and vocational training, and educational and other relevant programmes.

The Afro Caribbean Business Network (ACBN) https://acbncanada.com/ is a Brampton, Ontario based Not-for-Profit Organization dedicated to providing Black businesses with the resources needed to start, grow and scale up their companies; ACBN is proud to be a partner in commissioning the first Black Labour Market Needs Assessment for Ontario. This Rapid Assessment survey attempts to shine a light on some of the deep-rooted Labour and Employment issues currently facing Black communities in Canada, focusing on Southern Ontario. With this information, ACBN and the broader Black Entrepreneurship Ecosystem will be in a better position to support the Black businesses that are in their network.

Upon completion, the analytics gathered by Dunn, Pierre, Barnett and Company Ltd will provide helpful information in assessing the challenges within industries, which ACBN can then use to inform policymakers to develop interventions that will adequately address the skills shortage of the labour market and enable future planning.

This study would be the first of its kind to investigate the Black Labour Market from a scientific perspective based on international benchmarks using ISCO, ISIC and NIACS codes according to International Labour Organisation mandates.

This survey was able to commence on April 20, 2022, and is expected to last for no more than three months ending on July 19, 2022.

This project will be spearheaded by DPBA’s very own Dr. Justine Pierre, Labour Market and Migration consultant, in association with Co-founders and Co-Executive Directors of ACBN, Mr. Ryan Knight and Mrs. Nicola Harris, ultimately aiming to increase the number of black entrepreneurs in Canada more specifically in southern Ontario with the expectation to expand this research Nationally.

About the Author:

Dr. CLEOPHAS JUSTINE PIERRE: Labour Statistician: Researcher

Dr. Cleophas Justine Pierre is an ILO Trained Labour Market and Migration Consultant, specializing in the fields of Employment, Underemployment and Unemployment, and is currently a leading researcher in Canada and the Caribbean Region. His primary area of expertise is in the field of Migration and Labour Market Research. This field involves matters relating to forced migration, human trafficking, Migrant smuggling, migrants’ labour rights, data analytics, social research, conducting surveys, and the formulation of Labour Market Information Systems (LMIS)

Dr. Pierre and his firm currently have one of the largest labour market and Migration databases (Black Data and Informational Portal) https://www.dpbglobal.net/