Figure 4.3 further illustrates the relationship between document literacy proficiency and employment. In Canada, individuals who have document literacy scores at Level 1 — the lowest level of proficiency — have a much lower employment rate2 than do those at higher levels of proficiency. About 57 percent of those at Level 1 are employed compared to over 80 percent of those who scored at Levels 4/5. At the national level, there is a notable increase in the employment rate between proficiency Levels 1 and 2.
Figure 4.3
1. The reference period for the IALSS employment status was the date of the interview. Respondents were asked the question: “What is your current work
situation?”
.
Source: International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey, 2003.
The relationship between document literacy proficiency and employability is also observed across the Canadian regions although the relationship appears stronger in some regions than in others. With the exception of the Prairies, the unemployed in all regions have average document literacy scores corresponding to Level 2 proficiency whereas the employed have average scores at Level 3. In the Prairies, the average score for the unemployed, 276, is at the lowest end of Level 3 literacy – a likely reflection of the fact that Alberta and Saskatchewan are among the highest scoring jurisdictions in Canada. The difference in average document literacy scores between the employed and the unemployed is smaller in Ontario (14 points) and the Prairies (16 points) and larger in the Territories (48 points).
In the Territories and Quebec, around 70 percent of the unemployed have literacy proficiency below Level 3 compared to 39 percent and 46 percent of the employed population in these regions respectively. The proportions of the employed and unemployed populations below Level 3 are more similar in Ontario and the Prairies (See Annex A, Table 4.2).