Class of Worker
Part A - Plain Language Definition
Not applicable
Part B - Detailed Definition
This variable classifies persons who reported a job into the following categories:
(a) persons who worked mainly for wages, salaries, commissions, tips, piece-rates, or payments 'in kind' (payments in goods or services rather than money);
(b) persons who worked mainly for themselves, with or without paid help, operating a business, farm or professional practice, alone or in partnership;
(c) persons who worked without pay in a family business, farm or professional practice owned or operated by a related household member; unpaid family work does not include unpaid housework, unpaid childcare, unpaid care to seniors and volunteer work.
The job reported was the one held in the week (Sunday to Saturday) prior to enumeration (May 15, 2001) if the person was employed, or the job of longest duration since January 1, 2000, if the person was not employed during the reference week. Persons with two or more jobs in the reference week were asked to provide information for the job at which they worked the most hours.

Wage and Salary Earners
Includes persons 15 years of age and over who worked since January 1, 2000, and who indicated that in the job reported, they were working mainly for wages, salaries, commissions, tips, piece-rates or payments 'in kind' (payments in goods or services rather than money). Some examples include: those who worked in someone else's private household at such jobs as babysitting and cleaning; salespersons on commission working for only one company and not maintaining an office or staff; and those who worked for payment 'in kind' in non-family enterprises, such as members of a religious order who received free room and board or other supplies in lieu of cash.

Self-employed
Includes persons 15 years of age and over who worked since January 1, 2000, and for whom the job reported consisted mainly of operating a business, farm or professional practice, alone or in partnership. Some examples include: operating a farm, whether the land is rented or owned; working on a freelance or contract basis to do a job (e.g. architects, private duty nurses); operating a direct distributorship selling and delivering products such as cosmetics, newspapers, brushes and soap products; and fishing with own equipment or with equipment in which the person has a share.
Respondents were to specify if their business was incorporated or unincorporated, as well as if they had paid help or no paid help. It should be noted that new tax laws in 1980 permitted the respondent, for the first time, to deduct a spouse's wages as expenses. Consequently, self-employed persons who decided to pay wages to their spouse to take advantage of the new law changed status from 'without paid help' to 'with paid help' between 1971 and 1981. This change should be kept in mind when comparing data between the 1971 Census and subsequent censuses.

Unpaid Family Workers (Worked Without Pay for a Relative in a Family Business, Farm or Professional Practice)
Includes persons 15 years of age and over who worked without regular money wages, for a relative who was a member of the same household. The job reported consisted mainly of tasks contributing to the operation of a business, farm or professional practice, owned or operated by the relative.
Census data are directly comparable for this category from 1981 to 2001. The 1971 Census may not be strictly comparable to subsequent censuses because of conceptual changes in the 1981 Census. For instance, females who were unpaid family workers, worked as farm labourers, and did less than 20 hours of unpaid work a week, were excluded from the labour force according to the 1971 definitions. These persons are included in the employed labour force in 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996 and 2001. Also, new tax laws, mentioned earlier, changed the status of some people from 'unpaid family workers' to 'paid workers' between 1971 and 1981.
In addition, there were some data quality problems with the 1981 data that led to the underestimation of the 'Unpaid family workers'. In 1986, an apparent dramatic increase from 1981 in this category of worker was due more to better reporting in 1986 than an actual increase in the number of unpaid family workers.

Census products
Census products often present the class of worker data in the following categories:
(a) paid workers: this includes wage and salary earners and self-employed persons in incorporated companies (the latter are included because they are considered employees of their own companies and thus, paid workers);
(b) self-employed in unincorporated companies (a breakdown of 'with paid help' and 'without paid help' can be provided);
(c) unpaid family workers.

Comparability between Census Data and the Labour Force Survey data
Some persons who are considered as paid workers in the census are considered as self-employed persons without a business in the Labour Force Survey. These are persons who work at jobs such as babysitting and cleaning for private households, or as newspaper carriers.