Precarious Work and Economic Insecurity Among Skilled Professionals in Canada
Based on a national survey of professionals about precarious working conditions, the first of its kind, No Safe Harbour: Precarious Work and Economic Insecurity Among Skilled Professionals in Canada shows professionals across the country are not immune to the hallmarks of precarious work: no steady income, no pension, no benefits, no sick pay.
Even full-time work isn’t a buffer against precarity: 26 per cent of precarious professionals work full-time, though most go contract-to-contract (37 per cent) or work part-time (34 per cent). The majority (60 per cent) of precarious professionals don’t have a pension plan or RRSP, nor do they get sick pay.
The report finds precarious professionals in both the private (40 per cent) and public (30 per cent) sector. Precarious professionals are in all professions, but they’re concentrated in three occupational categories: education (28 per cent), health care (18 per cent), and business, finance and administration (19 per cent). The majority of precarious professionals are women (60 per cent) and there is a higher incidence among professionals aged 55 and up.
About the authors
Trish is the Director of the Think Upstream project and a senior communications strategist with the CCPA National Office. She is focused on social determinants health, sustainable development goals, income inequality, decent work, an inclusive economy, and wellbeing budgeting. Trish was the founding director of the CCPA Ontario and co-founded the Ontario Living Wage Network. She was the founding director of the CCPA National Office’s growing gap project, which began in 2006. Trish was a former newspaper journalist, originally from Saskatchewan but she now lives in Ottawa. She has a B.A. Sociology from Queen’s University, a B.S.W. from Carleton University, and an M.A. in Sociology from OISE/University of Toronto.
Ricardo Tranjan directs the research program for the CCPA-Ontario, focusing on collaboration and movement building. Ricardo’s expertise centres on Ontario public finances and the political economy of social policy, especially public education funding, income support programs, and rental housing. He is a frequent commentator in the media and public speaker. In addition to regular op-eds in major news outlets and several policy analyses, Ricardo is the author of two books: Participatory Democracy in Brazil (2015), a scholarly analysis of his native country; and the national bestseller The Tenant Class (2023). Previously, Ricardo managed the City of Toronto’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Office and briefly taught at universities in Ontario and Quebec. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Waterloo’s Balsillie School of International Affairs and speaks English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese.
