5: Labour Market Information Council
The Labour Market Information Council (LMIC) is a non-governmental body that works to identify and implement pan-Canadian priorities for the collection, analysis and distribution of LMI. They have been strong proponents of the importance of CDPs as vital intermediaries in supporting the use of LMI in career exploration, decision-making and planning.
LMIC leverages multiple formal LMI inputs to support this. Each of these can be important resources for the CPDs LMI toolkit.
We will review their recommended tools, how they are best used, and the cautions to be aware of for each of these resources.
Job Bank
Why a CDP Might Use Job Bank
- Most accessible and useable formal LMI tool produced by the federal government
- Quick access to information related to most of the Employability Dimensions
- Starting point for research on many common questions related to career exploration, skill requirements, wage information, and career growth
Why LMIC Uses Job Bank
- Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) vets employers before jobs are posted
- Information is therefore structured and reliable from the very start
- Employer access to specific ESDC programs, for example the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, requires they use Job Bank, meaning many temporary and manual labour opportunities are accessible on this platform
Cautions in Using Job Bank
Click here to go to Job Bank and bookmark it for your LMI toolkit if you have not already done so.
Labour Force Survey
Why a CDP Might Use LFS
- The interactive tool can give you a sense of the current employment and unemployment rates in your province and territory
- Clicking on your province/territory on the interactive map allows you to see the main sectors/industries in your area
Why LMIC Uses LFS
- The LFS is the premier source of LMI because of its consistency over time (starting in 1976) and its timeliness
- The LFS unemployment rate estimate is the official one used in a variety of government programs (e.g., Employment Insurance)
- The LFS surveys 60,000 households every month and therefore has lots of granular information such as specific age groups, occupation, and industry breakdowns.
Cautions in Using LFS
Canadian Jobs Trends Dashboard
Online job posting data provide insight into current hiring activity and the skills, tools, and work requirements employers are advertising right now. In Canada, the LMIC uses online job posting data supplied by Vicinity Jobs, a Canadian big data and labour market analytics company, to power its public-facing dashboards.
Vicinity Jobs collects job postings from across the web and uses advanced text analysis to link each posting to a standardized occupation and a defined set of work requirements. These requirements capture details such as skills, tools, technologies, certifications, and experience that employers mention in job ads. The data are cleaned and structured, including the removal of duplicate postings, before being used in LMIC’s tools.
CDPs do not access Vicinity Jobs data directly. Instead, they use the free, public LMIC dashboards that translate these data into practitioner-friendly insights, such as the Canadian Jobs Trends Dashboard.
Why a CDP Might Use Canadian Jobs Trends Dashboard
- This site offers near-real-time information on available jobs and their work requirements
Why LMIC Uses Canadian Jobs Trends Dashboard
- The data offer a comprehensive set of near-real-time information on online job postings and their work requirements
- Vicinity Jobs thoroughly cleans (including the removal of duplicate job postings) and structures the data to ensure it is as reliable as possible
Cautions in Using Canadian Jobs Trends Dashboard
Click here to navigate to the Canadian Jobs Trends Dashboard to bookmark it and add it to your LMI toolkit. If you have never used this tool, you will need to create an account to access it.
Additional Formal LMI Sources
In addition to the three resources recommended by LMIC that were covered above, an additional resource called OpportuNext can help round out your formal LMI toolkit.
OpportuNext is a Canadian career transition platform developed by the Conference Board of Canada, in partnership with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). It uses labour market data to help individuals explore alternative occupations that require similar skills, supporting more flexible, skills-based career exploration rather than a narrow focus on job titles.
Why a CDP Might Use OpportuNext
- It supports needs linked to employability dimensions, including career exploration, decision-making, skills enhancement, and career growth
- It facilitates exploration for those who are considering a career change, have experienced job loss, or want to explore new directions without starting from scratch
- It identifies occupations that align with existing skills and experience, making it easier to discuss transferable skills, reskilling options, and realistic transition pathways
Why LMIC UsesOpportuNext
- It is designed to address the growing need in the Canadian labour market to help workers adapt to change by recognizing the transferability of skills across occupations and sectors
- It encourages broader exploration and supports workforce mobility
Cautions in Using OpportuNext
OpportuNext is a directional tool, not a definitive career matcher. It does not account for personal values, interests, work preferences, geographic constraints, or lived experience. Results should be interpreted as starting points for conversation, not recommendations. As with all LMI tools, OpportuNext is most effective when used alongside other sources – such as Job Bank, sector information, and informal LMI – and within a supported career development process.
Click here to navigate to OpportuNext to bookmark it and add it to your LMI toolkit.
There are also other places to find valuable peer-reviewed research, government reports, and emerging labour market analysis, including:
