New data released by Statistics Canada on Monday shows that journeypersons who certified in 2020 were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. At $50,800, the group recorded one of the lowest annual median incomes since the data was first tracked in 2008, and more than 5% less than those who certified a year previous.

During the pandemic, newly certified journeypersons reported using the Canada Emergency Response Benefit at a higher rate (38.4%) than the general working population (35.2%). Many suffered from the fact that their worksites were closed due to pandemic restrictions.

Median employment income of newly certified journeypersons declines across Canada

The median employment income of journeypersons largely depends on the state of the local labour market and the economy in general.

The median employment income of newly certified journeypersons continued to be highest in the territories (-13.5% to $66,540) and Alberta (-7.0% to $57,230). While both jurisdictions experienced significant drops, it was Newfoundland and Labrador (-16.3%) that recorded the largest decline from 2019.

Only three of tracked 31 trades saw growth in the median earnings of newly certified journeypersons from 2019 to 2020: agricultural equipment technicians (+9.8%), industrial instrumentation and control technicians (+4.4%) and powerline technicians (+1.1%).

The remaining trades experienced decreases from 0.4% to 31.2%. Trades that rely heavily on interactions with the public, such as hairstylists (-31.2%), cooks (-21.5%) and estheticians (-21.3%), decreased the most. Considering these three trades have some of the highest concentrations of female journeypersons and were most at risk of job disruption because of COVID-19 restrictions, their decreases contributed to a larger decline in female journeypersons' income (-$3,780; -13.1%) than in male journeypersons' income (-$3,190; -5.7%).

Mobility rates of journeypersons decline for a third year

Previous research has noted that interprovincial mobility can affect a journeyperson's income. Economic gains are among the main reasons for migration, and those who are mobile and migrate to other provinces tend to have higher incomes compared with those who do not.

In 2020, one year after certification, 5.2% of journeypersons either lived or worked in a province or territory other than their place of certification. This marked the lowest national mobility rate of journeypersons since the data series started in 2008, and a continued downward trend for a third year.

In 2020, against the backdrop of COVID-19 restrictions, weak oil prices, and declines in construction activity and support activities for oil and gas extraction, Alberta's gross domestic product dropped 8.2%, the largest decline among the provinces and territories.

As a result, the province had difficulties retaining and attracting migrant journeypersons. In 2020, under one-fifth (18.2%) of mobile journeypersons (i.e., those who lived or worked in a province or territory other than their place of certification) who certified in 2019 moved to Alberta. This marked a 3.7 percentage point decline from the previous year and the sixth consecutive year of in-migration declines. In 2014, Alberta's resource boom made it an attractive destination, and in-migration of newly certified journeypersons to Alberta peaked, with nearly one-half (48.9%) of mobile journeypersons moving there. In 2020, just over one-third (33.7%) of mobile journeypersons had left the province.

British Columbia slowly replaced Alberta as the most common destination for newly certified migrant journeypersons. In 2020, one year after certification, British Columbia received just under one-quarter (24.4%, +1.5% from 2019) of newly certified in-migrants, most of whom migrated from Alberta, followed by Ontario (22.6%), which also surpassed Alberta.