National Outlook – 10-Year Projection (2011-2020)

This section provides labour demand and labour supply projections for this occupation over the 2011-2020 period.

Note: The tables, graphs and middle paragraph shown under this section display updated 2011-2020 projection results. The remaining narrative text (2009-2018 projections) will be updated shortly. We apologize for the inconvenience.

The data in the following table are derived from HRSDC’s Canadian Occupational Projection System (COPS). COPS uses a variety of models to produce a detailed 10-year labour market projection per broad skill level and per occupation at the national level, which focuses on the trends of labour supply and labour demand over the next ten years.

This occupation (Computer Engineers (Except Software Engineers and Designers)) is part of a larger occupational group called Other Engineers (NOC 214).

Occupation Projection for Canada

Over the 2008-2010 period, employment and wage growth in this occupation were strong and the unemployment rate remained virtually unchanged. The unemployment rate was very low in 2010 at 3.8%. The average hourly wage was among the highest for all occupations. This suggests that there were fewer job seekers than job openings. In other words, there was a labour shortage in this occupation. It is also important to note that this occupational group encompasses many types of engineers, including industrial and manufacturing, mining, aerospace and computer engineers, and that these different types of engineering are not necessarily interchangeable. Thus, many unemployed engineers who are specialized in a certain area (e.g. industrial and manufacturing engineering) cannot easily work in other specialized engineering occupations (e.g. computer engineering).

Over the 2011-2020 period, an occupation will be in excess demand (a shortage of workers) if the projected number of job openings is significantly greater than the projected number of job seekers. An occupation will be in excess supply (a surplus of workers) if the projected number of job openings is smaller than the projected number of job seekers. For Other Engineers, over the 2011-2020 period, job openings (arising from expansion demand and replacement demand) are expected to total 36,655 and 37,852 job seekers (arising from school leavers, immigration and mobility) are expected to be available to fill the job openings.

Based on projections and considering the recent shortage of workers in this occupation, it is expected that labour demand will be greater than supply over the 2011-2020 period, while the number of job seekers will be insufficient to fill all the job openings. Job openings in this occupation will result from both employment growth and retirements. However, while employment growth will play a major role in creating job openings, the number of jobs it will create will be lower than in recent years mainly as a result of the difficulties faced by certain manufacturing sectors. However, the strength of the mining, oil extraction, aerospace and computer engineering sectors will create employment growth for this occupation that will be higher than average. Although retirements will result in a large number of job openings, the retirement rate for this occupation is not very high compared to the average retirement rate. With regard to labour supply, the number of job seekers will increase over the coming years as a result of an increase in the number of engineering graduates.

This Chart contains data for Projection of Job Openings vs. Job Seekers for Canada. Information is available in the following tables.

In which industry or sector do people in this occupation find jobs in Canada?

This table shows the industry and sectors employing the highest number of people in this occupation.

What percentage of people in this occupation are self-employed?

The graph displays the percentage of people in this occupation who are “self-employed”, according to the 2006 Census, in comparison to the Canadian average across all occupations.

As shown in the graph, according to the 2006 Census, 8% of people in this occupation were self-employed, while the average for all occupations was 12%.

The Labour Force Survey also gives us some information about self-employment. This occupation (Computer Engineers (Except Software Engineers and Designers)) is part of a larger group called Other Engineers (NOC 214). According to the Labour Force Survey (2009), 11% of workers in this group were self-employed, while the average for all occupations was 16%.

What is the proportion of women working in this occupation?

The graph displays the proportion of men and women in this occupation in comparison to the Canadian average across all occupations.

According to the Labour Force Survey (2009), women represented 18% of workers in this occupation, compared to the average of 48% for all occupations.

What percentage of people in this occupation are members of a union?

This occupation (Computer Engineers (Except Software Engineers and Designers)) is part of a larger group called Other Engineers (NOC 214). According to the Labour Force Survey (2009), the unionization rate for this group was 14%, while the unionization rate for all occupations was 31%.