Assessing Job Quality in Canada: A Multidimensional Approach

In this article, we examine multidimensional aspects of job quality in Canada. Six broad dimensions of job quality were assessed: income and benefits, career prospects, work intensity, working-time quality, skills and discretion, and social environment. Results from both descriptive and latent class analysis reveal a great deal of variation in job quality across sectors and socio-demographic groups. In particular, we found that some of the largest labour market segments, such as hospitality and personal services, are associated with many negative job features. Moreover, workers with atypical contracts or in part-time employment have many disadvantages in the workplace other than being low-paid.