Unemployment Rate for High School Dropouts Double that of University Graduates

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Toronto, April 12. 2006 -- In 2004, the unemployment rate for 25- to 29-year-olds who had not completed high school stood at 15% compared to 7% for university graduates. This was one of many pieces of information contained in a major report released today by education ministers and Statistics Canada.

Education Indicators in Canada: Report of the Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program 2005 is a comprehensive, data-based resource on the characteristics and functioning of education systems in the provinces and territories.

“The report is not only the result of a credible and productive working relationship between the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) and Statistics Canada,” stated Dr. Raymond Théberge, Director General of CMEC, “it also provides high-quality dependable data for making informed decisions about policy choices and program development.”

The report is a product of the Canadian Education Statistics Council (CESC), a partnership between Statistics Canada and CMEC.

“This report is a valuable instrument for education ministers and for researchers,” said Dr. Ivan Fellegi, Chief Statistician of Canada and co-chair of CESC.  “It brings together in one document a wealth of current information about our education systems.”

Some highlights from the report:

 

  • Canada's performance on mathematics literacy in OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) was strong, with only two countries, Hong Kong and Finland, performing significantly better than Canada.

    •  

  • More than 99% of the elementary and secondary schools in Canada had computers in the 2003-04 school year. Nine out of ten computers were connected to the Internet and available to students.
  • In 2002, there were 234,500 registered apprentices in Canada, 30% more than in 1992.

    •  

  • In 2001, no other OECD nation had a higher proportion of its population aged 25 to 64 with either a college or university credential than Canada. However, in terms of the population with a university degree, Canada ranked fifth overall.

    •  

  • Between 1997-98 and 2001-02, combined federal, provincial/territorial, and municipal government expenditure on education grew by 10% at the post­secondary level; expenditure at the elementary-secondary level increased by 3%.

    •  

  • Undergraduate university tuition fees increased over the period 1994‑95 to 2004‑05 (in constant 2001 dollars) from an average of $2,535 to $3,863 across Canada.

    •  

  • In 2002-03, 35% of university faculty were aged 50 to 59, compared to 23% of the overall labour force.

 

The 2005 report, the fourth edition published by the program, is available in its entirety and free of charge on the Internet (www.statcan.ca; www.cesc.ca), as well as in hard copy from Statistics Canada.

CMEC is an intergovernmental body composed of the ministers responsible for elementary-secondary and advanced education from the provinces and territories. Through CMEC, ministers share information and undertake projects in areas of mutual interest and concern.

Information
Sharon-Anne Borde, CMEC
Tel.: (416) 962-8100, ext. 251
E-mail: sa.borde@cmec.ca