Pregnant Workers

Question

I've had a request for information on pregnant workers in Canada. Specifically, a count or estimate of the number of pregnant workers in any one year, and also whatever demographic information I can find, preferably at the provincial level or better.

I've found information on number of women taking maternity leave, but I've been unable to find anything that would let us estimate the number of women who work during some part of their pregnancy, either full or part-time, who don't have maternity leave. Most surveys of the general population don't seem to ask about pregnancy.

Is there anything obvious I'm missing?

Answer

We have a few surveys which might be of interest, but the vintage is a little old :

1) The Absence from Work Survey (AWS) was an annual supplement to the Labour Force Survey (LFS) from 1977 to 1998. It asked employees about work absences of at least two weeks duration due to "illness, accident or pregnancy." Detailed information on duration and type of compensation received was collected for the most recent absence. Available at:
http://www.statcan.ca/english/Dli/Data/Ftp/aws.htm

2) The Maternity Leave Survey (1985)
http://www.statcan.ca/english/Dli/Data/Ftp/mls.htm

But I also found some interesting data in the Daily release of Employment Insurance Coverage Survey (2004)- a table called Eligibility of mothers for maternity and parental benefits and duration of leave (http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/050622/d050622d.htm).
This will not provide you with the demographics of these females, but it will help answer your second set of questions. Unfortunately the survey does not have a PUMF and is not part of the DLI collection, but perhaps the aggregate tables will be of use to you.