Québec, November 12, 2024. – The employment rate of Québec mothers aged 25 to 54 with at least one child under 25 is higher than that of mothers in the other main provinces. In 2023, this rate stood at about 87% in Québec, compared to 80% in Ontario, 78% in Alberta, and 79% in British Columbia.
In addition, the gender gap between mothers and fathers is smaller in Québec (at about 7 points) than in the other provinces (between 13 and 16 points). These findings come from the publication Participation des parents au marché du travail : évolution de 2008 à 2023 released by the Institut de la statistique du Québec.
Employment rate of parents with at least one child under 25 in Canada’s main provinces, population aged 25 to 54, 2023
Note
Data are rounded
Source
Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, 2023. Adapted by the Institut de la statistique du Québec.
Employment rate
In this analysis, “employment rate” means the proportion of people holding a job among those aged 25 to 54. A higher employment rate means that a larger share of the population has a job.
Employment rate of Québec mothers has increased significantly
Over the past 15 years, the employment rate of mothers has increased significantly in Québec from 79% in 2008 to 87% in 2023. Among mothers whose youngest child is under 6 years of age, the employment rate jumped from 72% in 2008 to 82% in 2023, an even greater increase.
The employment rate gap between fathers and mothers with at least one child under 25 has narrowed from 11 percentage points in 2008 to 7 points in 2023.
Employment rate of single and immigrant mothers up sharply
The employment rate of single mothers increased by about 10 points between 2008 and 2023. It now stands at 86%, which is close to the employment rate of single fathers and mothers in couple relationships (87%).
A similar trend was observed among immigrant mothers in Québec, as their employment rate rose 15 points between 2008 and 2023 to about 77%. Given that the employment rate of non-immigrant mothers increased by 8 points to about 91% over the same period, the gap between immigrant and non-immigrant mothers has narrowed from 20 to 14 percentage points.
The employment rate of immigrant fathers also increased more than that of non-immigrant fathers (up 9 points vs. 3 points).
The employment rate gap between immigrant mothers and fathers stood at 15 points in 2023. Although this gender gap has narrowed since 2008, it remains 3.5 times wider among immigrant than non-immigrant parents.
Substantial differences among mothers by educational level
The employment rate has only increased among mothers with postsecondary or university education. Among mothers with a secondary school diploma or less, it has remained stable over the past 15 years. It stood at around 71% in 2023, approximately 20 points below that of highly educated mothers.
The gender gap between mothers and fathers with a secondary school diploma or less remained high at about 18 points in 2023, which shows that it is particularly difficult for less educated mothers to enter the labour market.
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