The Disintegrating Canadian Labour Market? The Extent of the Market then and Now

Analysis of real wages for three occupations in 13 Canadian cities for 1901-50 suggests Canada had a national labour market at least until 1950. However, analysis of real wages for 10 Canadian cities for 1971-2000 yields little evidence favouring integration of Canada's regional labour markets. The apparent lack of labour market integration reflects a weakness of an approach that assumes markets are in equilibrium. Unemployment rates after 1970 suggest that some regional markets may be characterized by excess labour supply. Analysis of relative provincial unemployment rates yields evidence consistent with local labour force adjustment to changing labour market conditions