As of April 6, 2020, there were no up-to-date statistics for the number of journalists working in Canada. So, National Observer asked Statistics Canada to provide what it calls a “custom tabulation”.
Below is the correspondence, and the accompanying data, from media relations officer Anna Maiorino.
Hello Mr. McKie:
Thank you for your request.
The only online table at that level of detail for the National Occupational Classification (NOC) code 5123 – journalists would be from the 2016 Census of Population. However, in order to compare change over time with a more recent period, we have produced a small custom tabulation from the Labour Force Survey (LFS).
See attached table (LFS_NOC5123_2019.xlsx):
- Labour Force Survey estimates (LFS), employment in occupation 5123 – journalists, Canada, annual average, 2015 to 2019 (x1,000)
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, custom tabulation
Note the definition for the occupational NOC code 5123 – journalists
Journalists research, investigate, interpret and communicate news and public affairs through newspapers, television, radio and other media. They are employed by radio and television networks and stations, newspapers and magazines. Journalists may also work on a freelance basis.
I have added a «Note» tab to the spreadsheet which provides you with a list of occupations that typically get coded to NOC code 5123, as well as a few excluded occupations.
Note that LFS estimates are based on a sample and are therefore subject to sampling variability. As a result, estimates for detailed occupations, such as 5123 – journalists, have more variability. For an explanation of sampling variability of estimates and how to use standard errors to assess this variability, consult the ‘Estimates quality’ section of the publication Labour Force Information (Catalogue number 71-001-X).
| Labour Force Survey estimates (LFS), employment in occupation 5123 – journalists, Canada, annual average, 2015 to 2019 (x1,000) | |
| Employment | |
| 2015 | 11.6 |
| 2016 | 11.2 |
| 2017 | 11.7 |
| 2018 | 10.2 |
| 2019 | 9.1 |
| Example of occupations included into NOC 5123: |
| · anchorman |
| · anchorwoman |
| · art critic |
| · book critic |
| · book reviewer |
| · broadcast journalist |
| · chronicler |
| · columnist |
| · commentator |
| · correspondent |
| · critic |
| · culinary journalist |
| · cyberjournalist |
| · cyberreporter |
| · drama critic |
| · entertainment columnist |
| · fashion columnist |
| · feature reporter |
| · field reporter |
| · film critic |
| · financial reporter |
| · foreign affairs reporter |
| · foreign correspondent |
| · foreign news correspondent |
| · headline writer |
| · investigative reporter |
| · journalist |
| · law reporter |
| · literary critic |
| · movie critic |
| · multimedia information trader |
| · music critic |
| · music reviewer |
| · netsurfer |
| · network reporter |
| · news analyst |
| · news analyst – broadcasting |
| · news commentator |
| · news commentator – broadcasting |
| · news correspondent |
| · news reporter |
| · news writer – international broadcasting |
| · newscast correspondent |
| · newspaper correspondent |
| · newspaper critic |
| · newspaper editorial writer |
| · newspaper reporter |
| · newspaper writer |
| · on-line chronicler |
| · on-line columnist |
| · political analyst – radio or television |
| · political columnist |
| · political reporter |
| · press reporter |
| · program researcher – radio or television |
| · radio commentator |
| · radio researcher |
| · reporter |
| · society columnist |
| · society journalist |
| · society reporter |
| · sports columnist |
| · sports reporter |
| · sports writer – journalism |
| · staff writer – newspaper |
| · stock market reporter |
| · television news anchorperson |
| · television researcher |
| · theatre critic |