Appendix 1: Data Sources - Appendices - A Guide to the BC Economy and Labour Market

Data sources used in the analysis are described below.

GDP data for 1990 to 2008 (excluding estimates for tourism and high tech)

GDP estimates are prepared by the Industry Analysis Division of Statistics Canada, and published on CANSIM, the agency’s electronic database. The shares and GDP estimates for some industry groups shown in the graphs and figures that are included in this document were calculated by BC Stats.

Labour Market Characteristics:

Employment
Self-employment
Part-time & full-time workers
Employment by sex
Unemployment rates
Average hourly wage rates
Usual hours worked
Employment by establishment size
Employment by region
Union coverage

All of these indicators come from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). The Labour Force Survey is a monthly survey of individuals which asks them about their current work status, which industry they are working in (or worked in at their last job), and whether or not they are currently seeking employment. Some of the information is available on CANSIM, Statistics Canada’s electronic database, but the more detailed information by industry was obtained from special tabulations produced by Statistics Canada for BC Stats.

Employment and GDP estimates for tourism and high tech

These estimates are produced by BC Stats on an annual basis using information supplied by Statistics Canada. More information on the concepts, methodology and data sources for the estimates can be found at www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca

GDP and Employment forecasts for 2009 to 2017

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada: Canadian Occupational Projection System (COPS) forecast (2007). This forecast is produced annually and indicates expected trends in occupations, employment, GDP and other labour force characteristics for the provinces and at the national level.

Occupations by industry (estimates for 2008)

Other indicators

Data sources for other indicators are noted in the text. As well, Statistics Canada produces annual surveys for many industries (e.g., engineering services, computer systems design). This information is published on CANSIM, the agency’s electronic database.

Some of the information on developments in the retail industry comes from Industry Canada’s Consumer Trends Report, available online at https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/oca-bc.nsf/eng/ca02088.html

NOTE: Display of data in bar charts
In the bar charts, the chart labels show only the whole numbers. However, the charts are constructed using actual data which is unrounded (e.g., 5.43%). A chart may include multiple bars of different length or height that display the same number. This means that one category is slightly larger than the other, but still rounds up or down to the same whole number.