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 (Airline Sales and Service Agents) is part of a larger occupational group called Occupations in Travel and Accommodation (NOC 643).

Occupation Projection for Canada

Over the 2008-2010 period, this occupation experienced a decrease in employment and a large increase in the unemployment rate, which rose to 9.1% in 2010. Wages remained stable and relatively low. According to key labour market indicators, the number of job seekers was more than sufficient to fill the job openings in this occupation.

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 Occupations In Travel And Accommodation, over the 2011-2020 period, job openings (arising from expansion demand and replacement demand) are expected to total 15,298 and 16,790 job seekers (arising from school leavers, immigration and mobility) are expected to be available to fill the job openings.

Based on projections and considering that there was a surplus of labour in this occupation, it is expected that there will be more job seekers than job openings over the 2011-2020 period. More than 80% of job openings for the projection period will arise from retirements. Even though workers in this occupation are younger than in most occupations, over 12,000 openings will be created by departures for retirement. Furthermore, although there will be no expansion demand over the projection period, this is an improvement over what was observed during the previous decade when employment dropped. As for labour supply, school leavers will account for the majority of job seekers over the 2011-2020 period. In fact, school leavers will far outnumber job openings. However, in the past many workers left this occupation. This will continue to be the case over the projection period. As the skills required for this occupation are relatively generic, many workers enter this occupation while searching for employment in other occupations that better match their career goals. Moreover, the difficult conditions in this occupation lead many workers to leave it for another occupation.

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 members of a union?

This occupation (Airline Sales and Service Agents) is part of a larger group called Occupations in Travel and Accommodation (NOC 643). According to the Labour Force Survey (2009), the unionization rate for this group was 34%, while the unionization rate for all occupations was 31%.