Unionization rate more stable for Canadian women than men

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Unionization in Canada continues a long decline, but more so for men than women.

A Statistics Canada “megatrend” analysis shows 37.6 per cent of the workforce belonged to a union in 1981, but by last year the unionzation rate was just 28.8 per cent.

It’s a different story for women. In 1981, their unionization rate was 31.4 per cent and in 2014 it was 30.5 per cent.

StatsCan says the stability “may be explained by their concentration in industries with a high unionization rate, such as health care and social assistance, education services and public administration.”

Such jobs are almost entirely in the public sector.

Men have been less fortunate; their unionization rate is down almost 15 percentage points in the same period.

Unionization was lower for men in every age group, especially those between 25 and 44. StatsCan says the “major reason behind this trend was the employment shift from industries and occupations with high unionization rates, such as manufacturing, to industries and occupations with lower rates, such as retail trade.”

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