6: Types of Labour Market Information

When first thinking about LMI, does your mind immediately go to spreadsheets, statistics, and employment status reports? Do things like LinkedIn groups, and community notice boards also come to mind?

In this section, we will introduce the two major types of LMI – formal and informal – and the advantages and potential pitfalls of each.

Formal LMI – A First Glimpse

Formal LMI comes from structured, published sources such as Statistics Canada, Job Bank, sector councils, and government agencies. These sources are designed to help users understand patterns in occupations, industries, and regions.

Below are the main types of formal LMI information you will encounter.

Wages and Earnings

These data show typical pay for an occupation, including hourly wages, median earnings, and wage ranges. They help clients understand earning potential, compare regions, and assess financial fit.

Education and Training Requirements

Formal LMI outlines the schooling, training, and certifications needed for different occupations. This helps clients see whether they meet entry requirements or may need additional preparation.

Industries of Employment

Occupations exist within broader industries. Knowing which industries employ certain roles helps clients understand where opportunities are most likely and how work can vary across sectors.

Employment Types and Work Arrangements

Formal LMI describes whether roles are typically full-time, part-time, contract, seasonal, gig-based, or self-employment. This supports conversations about work-life balance, financial needs, and job stability.

Occupational Descriptions (NOC)

The National Occupational Classification provides details on job duties, skills, work environments, and requirements. These descriptions help clients compare occupations and identify transferable skills.

Formal LMI alone has benefits and pitfalls.

Benefits of Formal LMI

  • Comprehensive Sources: Formal LMI should be supported by robust, verifiable data. Dates, data, and methodologies should be transparent so it can be used to assess quality and relevance.
  • Established Sources: Formal LMI should be associated with well-known organizations or authors, for example, Statistics Canada, or the Job Bank.

Pitfalls of Formal LMI

  • Not Local: Formal LMI may not be locally or personally relevant to the client.
  • Stale Data: Data may be outdated. A large national survey that was last completed more than a decade ago, for example, could be misleading as it will not reflect current trends and insights.
  • Confusing: Formal LMI may be confusing or poorly presented. Some sources may be at risk of misinterpretation.

Formal LMI provides factual information that can help shape informed decision-making.

Informal LMI – A First Glimpse

Informal LMI is information that we observe, hear from others, and experience.

It is all around us. It is the information you see by observing Help Wanted signs as you walk down the street, by overhearing conversation on the bus about a new business opening nearby or by reading local newspaper articles.

Sources of informal LMI are almost endless. Below are just a few places where informal LMI can often be found and how it can provide LMI insights.

Newspapers and news programming

The news often publishes stories about local happenings, including business openings, closings, and changes that are expected to lead to local job growth or job attrition in different sectors.

Social media

Small employers often rely on word-of-mouth, referrals, and social media posts to share information. Even a casual post from a friend on their personal social media page about a big new project they are starting at work can yield insights into their industry and current work opportunities.

Community noticeboards

Community centres, local libraries, and other community gathering places often make a community board available to post notices on everything from jobs to workshops to upcoming local community business association meetings. Paying attention to community noticeboards can open the door to local opportunities and insights.

Benefits of Informal LMI

  • More Likely to be Current: Informal LMI is typically immediate. It is not dependent on formal structures, such as job postings or labour market reports.
  • More Readily Accessible: Informal LMI is accessible through conversations with friends and neighbours, from community centres, a posted sign in a storefront, or even a backyard barbecue. With coaching from you on how to spot it, clients can identify it.
  • More Likely to be Locally and Personally Relevant: Informal LMI often very localized, helping to uncover opportunities that are tangible, accessible, and close to home.

Pitfalls of Informal LMI

  • No statistical reliability: For the most part, informal LMI is not recorded, so it is difficult to gather enough of the same information to draw out a statistical analysis.
  • Inconsistent: What you observe or hear may be an anomaly that does not reflect real opportunity, requiring you to verify from multiple sources.
  • Easy to miss: Recognizing informal LMI takes practice. Clients may overlook the common informal sources they see every day.

To make meaning from informal LMI often takes practice as it involves looking at seemingly ordinary interactions and observations through a different lens. While informal LMI surrounds us, we don’t always recognize it as valuable information that could inform career and decision-making.

Understanding the two major categories of LMI – formal and informal – helps CDPs choose the right sources for the right questions, helps prevent overwhelm or misinterpretation, and opens eyes to valuable, often overlooked sources of labour market insights and information.

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