A job for life? The notion is not as outdated as people think, report finds

OTTAWA – A job for life? It sounds like an outdated notion, but a new report suggests job stability is as prevalent today as it ever was.

CIBC economists looking at the job stability phenomenon say their analysis shows it at an all time high, or at least at a record high since Statistics Canada started gathering the data in the 1970s.

The report from economists Benjamin Tal and Nick Exarhos finds the percentage of Canadians who have stayed with the same employer for five years and longer is now at a record level.

Extrapolating from the Statistics Canada data, the economists say there is a 60 per cent chance that Canadians will stay with an employer after completing their first year, and a 95 per cent chance for those having five or more years with the same firm.

But it is not necessarily due to loyalty, Tal says. He believes it is more to do with fear.

For employers, they fear losing skilled and trained staff that they will find difficult to replace, and are willing to pay more to retain them.

For low-skilled workers, they see a larger than usual pool of unemployed and so are reluctant to leave the job they have.