Aboriginal Labour Force Participation in Canada: Consideration of a Broader Definition of Capital

Laura Lamb & Belayet Hossain Thompson Rivers University

Kamloops, BCCanada

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Aboriginal Canadians live at a lower level of economic development than non-Aboriginal Canadians.

labour force status is consistently considered to be a critical factor.

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Employment is one of the most fundamental ways people participate in society, and the basis of self-respect and autonomy (Mendelson, 2004)

Employment is incorporated in many measures of well-being. (CWB Beavon & Cooke, 2003)

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Identify the socio-economic and demographic determinants of the labour force status of Aboriginal Canadians

Broader definition of capital ◦ Health status◦ Social capital

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A component of human capital

Health status → labour market productivity →labour force participation

Past research on health and employment◦ Stephens (2010), Latif (2006)

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Networks and social relations are instrumental for labour market success (Woolcock, 2001)

Past research on social capital and employment◦ White et al.(2003), Matthews et al. (2009),

Grenier & Xue (2009)

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Aboriginal Canadians with higher levels of human capital, as indicated by educational attainment and health status, and a high level of social capital are more likely to have full-time employment and less likely to not be in the labour force.

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2006 Aboriginal Peoples Survey (APS), Statistics Canada

18,165 observations (age 20+)

Multinomial probit model ◦ Dependent variable: employment status

NILF not in labour force UE unemployed PT part time employment FT full time employment

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 Human Capital education, health status

Social Capital

Socio-demographicgender, age, marital status, children, region, Aboriginal status, income support

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Good/Excellent HealthFair/Poor Health

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Strong Social Capital Weak Social Capital

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NILF UE PT FT

Base 0.231 0.047 0.130 0.591

Human Capital

High school 0.130 0.044 0.121 0.705

Some post-sec 0.161 0.040 0.122 0.677

Complete post-sec 0.060 0.041 0.124 0.774

Some university 0.150 0.026 0.196 0.627

Complete University 0.071 0.018 0.124 0.787

Health Status -0.028 0.062 0.127 0.836

Social Capital

Social Capital 0.175 0.033 0.682 0.682

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Socio-demographic variables

NILF UE PT FT

Base 0.231 0.047 0.130 0.591

Gender 0.104 0.056 0.059 0.780

Age 25-34 0.18 0.030 0.074 0.711

Age 35-44 0.114 0.024 0.065 0.797

Age 45-54 0.143 0.016 0.061 0.780

Age 55+ 0.473 0.007 0.066 0.455

Married 0.220 0.039 0.134 0.606

1-2 children 0.228 0.059 0.126 0.588

>2 children 0.297 0.046 0.149 0.508

Rural 0.271 0.068 0.131 0.530

Arctic 0.219 0.110 0.101 0.570

Registered status 0.259 0.064 0.117 0.561

Income support 0.140 0.039 0.125 0.69614

Completion of post-secondary (university or non-university) is important for attaining full-time employment.

Good health has the largest impact on full-time employment.

Strong social capital has a significant impact on the probability of attaining full-time employment.

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Predicted probability of being employed full-time is positively affected by◦ Male gender◦ Age 25-54◦ Income support

Predicted probability of being employed full-time is negatively affected by◦ >2 children◦ Rural residence ◦ Registered Indian status

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The likelihood of not being in the labour force decreases with◦ level of education◦ strong social capital◦ good health

The likelihood of being unemployed decreases with◦ level of education◦ strong social capital

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Results suggest greater recognition for the role of good health & social capital in policies developed to improve labour force participation of Aboriginal Canadians.

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Results suggest that future research in this area may want to include a broader definition of capital to include social capital and health.

Examine role of capital with multiple variables to capture full impact of networks and relationships.

Include other variables such as parental education and intermarriage.

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