Job prospects Certified Social Worker in Québec

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "certified social worker" in Québec or across Canada.

Job opportunities in Québec

These outlooks were updated on November 29, 2023.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be good for Social workers (NOC 41300) in Quebec for the 2023-2025 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to several new positions.
• Not many positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

There is a high demand for this occupation, and it depends primarily on the demand for social services and government spending on these services.

In recent years, the growth in the number of positions has been driven by the increase and diversification of social service needs, as well as by the aging population. The rise in household economic insecurity, housing shortages and an increase in homelessness could also increase needs.

In an effort to help recruit and train more professionals, the government has introduced new scholarship programs that are eligible for future social work graduates.

While the employment outlook for this occupation is good at the provincial level, it will be moderate in five regions.

Here are some key facts about Social workers in Quebec:

• Approximately 17,500 people work in this occupation.
• Social workers mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Hospitals (NAICS 622): 34%
  • Social assistance (NAICS 624): 31%
  • Ambulatory health care services (NAICS 621): 17%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 85% compared to 82% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 15% compared to 18% for all occupations
• 76% of social workers work all year, while 24% work only part of the year, compared to 62% and 38% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 46 weeks compared to 43 weeks for all occupations.
• Less than 5% of social workers are self-employed compared to an average of 12% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 13% compared to 52% for all occupations
  • Women: 87% compared to 48% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: less than 5% compared to 12% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: less than 5% compared to 19% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: less than 5% compared to 19% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: less than 5% compared to 22% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 74% compared to 17% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: 22% compared to 11% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Québec by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Labour market conditions over the next 10 years

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "certified social worker" Social workers (NOC 41300) or across Canada.

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