Other Services

 

The services provided by people working in this industry are mainly used by individuals or households, and cover a wide range of activities. They are often labour-intensive, and can require specialized skills.

Many, but not all, of these services are somewhat discretionary by nature. We have to use the services of health care professionals to obtain medical care, and in most cases, it's not possible to buy goods without using the services of a retailer or wholesaler. However, it is possible and quite common, for individuals to acquire the skills and knowledge needed to repair a vehicle, upholster furniture, cut hair, or clean and repair clothing, even if they do not achieve professional results.

What's included in other services?

People who work in this industry have jobs at garages, hair salons, barber shops, massage parlours, shoe repair places, laundries and drycleaners. Some are employed by funeral homes, crematoriums, and cemeteries.

More than a third of the workforce is employed in establishments that repair & maintain autos, equipment, and other goods

Establishments in this industry repair & maintain cars, machinery & equipment, furniture, and other personal and household goods.

The industry also includes personal services such as hair styling, aesthetics, funeral services, laundry & dry cleaning, pet grooming & other pet care, photofinishing, parking, and other personal services.

Religious, grant making, civic, professional, labour unions, and other similar organizations are also included, as are household services such as those provided by cooks, maids, gardeners, babysitters, and other people who are employed to help run private households.

What's happened since 1990?

Despite slower-than-average employment growth, the industry's share of total GDP has increased.

The industry's share of GDP has risen slightly since 1990, and is currently at about 3%. However, employment growth in this industry has not kept pace with the rest of the economy, and its share of total employment has fallen. It was just over 4% of the total workforce in 2008.

Employment in the industry expanded 34% between 1990 and 2008, well below the 48% increase in total employment in the province. The repair & maintenance industry increased its workforce by 41%, as did religious, grant-making, civic & other organizations. There were 36% more people working in personal & laundry services increased 36%. However, employment in private households (domestic workers, housekeepers, and so on) was only 8% higher than in 1990.

What are the most common occupations?

Given the personal-service orientation of this industry, it's not surprising that four out of 10 people who work in it are in sales & service occupations. Many of them are hairstylists & barbers (13% of the total), babysitters & nannies (8%) or aestheticians (4%). Other occupations include visiting homemakers, laundry workers, pet groomers, janitors, and other types of personal care services.

Almost four out of 10 workers in this industry are in sales & service occupations

Trades, transportation & equipment operators make up 29% of the workforce. These are primarily mechanics (9% of the workers) and autobody (5%) workers. Other occupations in this group include machinists and specialized trades such as tailors, dressmakers, upholsterers, and people who repair shoes or jewellery.

Workers in business, finance & administrative occupations are primarily receptionists, clerks, secretaries, and bookkeepers. They make up 13% of the industry's workforce. Another 7% work in social sciences, education, government services & religion. More than half of them are religious workers such as ministers, but other occupations include family & marriage counsellors, researchers, and community & social service workers.

How many people work in other services, and how much do they earn?

There were 101,200 people working in this industry in 2008. Of this total, 37,400 were employed in repair & maintenance establishments, while 29,300 worked in personal & laundry services. Another 20,400 were employed by religious, grant-making, civic, professional & other similar organizations, and 14,100 worked for private households.

Wages are below the average for all industries

Workers earned an average hourly wage of $18.20 in 2008, which was $3.26 less than the average for all industries. There is a great deal of variability in pay scales within this industry. People who were employed by private households received an average wage of $11.19 an hour, while those employed in personal & laundry services typically earned $13.55 an hour. Wages in repair & maintenance ($20.36) and religious, grant-making, civic & professional organizations ($23.14) were considerably higher. The average work week was 36 hours long.

What are the characteristics of the workforce?

One in four people who work in this industry are employed part time. That's slightly higher than the average for all industries (20%).

There is not much seasonal variability in employment-the number of people working in this industry remains fairly steady throughout the year. Just 9% of the workers in this industry were employed on a temporary basis in 2008, slightly less than the 11% average for all industries in the province.

Most workers do not have union coverage. Just 11% were covered by collective agreements in 2008, compared to 31% for the economy as a whole.

Women make up 56% of the workforce, considerably more than their share of total employment (47%).

One in three workers is self-employed

Self-employment is quite common in this industry. Thirty-one percent of the workers are self-employed, well above the 19% average for the economy as a whole. The percentage of self-employed workers is also high in personal & laundry services (41%). Among those working in repair & maintenance, 38% are self-employed. Thirty-two percent of workers employed by private households were self-employed in 2008 (in most years, this figure is higher, closer to fifty percent). Self-employment is very rare in religious, grant-making, civic & professional organizations; fewer than 2% of the workers in this industry are their own bosses.

Unemployment rates in the industry averaged 5.3% during the period from 1990 to 2008. This was well below the average for all industries in the province (7.8%).

Three out of four workers are employed in establishments with fewer than 20 co-workers

Most of the people who work in this industry are employed in small establishments with fewer than 100 workers. Three out of four work in establishments with fewer than 20 employees, while 19% have jobs at establishments with 20 to 99 employees.

Where are the jobs located?

The distribution of jobs in this industry is similar to the distribution of the province's workforce

Many of the services provided by workers in this industry are people-oriented, so it is not surprising that the jobs in this industry are distributed in much the same way as the population. Most of the people work in Mainland/Southwest (63%) or Vancouver Island/Coast (18%). Thompson-Okanagan accounts for 10% of the workforce, slightly less than the region's share of the total population.

What's the outlook to 2017?

Employment growth in this industry is expected to lag slightly behind the average for all industries during the next few years. However, the industry's GDP is forecast to grow at about the same rate as the rest of the economy and its share of total value added is expected to remain at about 3%.

The industry's share of employment is expected to decline during the next few years