• Length of non-employment period and job search: Men who did not complete high school took, on average, 7 weeks longer to find a job than those who had more than high-school education, and the time they spent actively looking for a job was almost 4 weeks longer (Table 3). For women who did not complete high school, the period of non-employment was more than 5 weeks longer than for those who had more than high-school education, but job searching took only a week longer. The durations also varied with age, but the effect of education was fairly consistent across age groups.
  
  
• Impact on wage level: Level of education substantially affected wage rate in a new full-time job. After taking into consideration various characteristics of the individuals (age, disability, visible minority status) and of the new jobs (union status, firm size, industry, occupation), men with university degrees received hourly wages that were 29% higher than men who had not completed high school. Among women, university graduates received an hourly wage 52% higher than those who had not finished high school. Interestingly, men with a trades certificate or diploma from a vocational school or apprenticeship training earned 21% more than those who had not graduated from high school. Relative gains for women in the same situation were significantly lower (13%). The relative advantage of completing high school was not substantial: less than 8% for men and slightly more than 9% for women.

Table 3. Gender differences in time spent not employed
and searching for a job by level of educationa

aPeople who started full-time jobs with a new employer in 1989-90 after a period of non-employment shorter than 2 years.