Increase in Pharmacy workforce in Canada, based on CIHI report,

According to a new Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) report, the number of pharmacists in Canada has increased from 22, 197 in 1995 to 29, 471 in 2005. The study found that in 2006 the average of pharmacists was 43 years, more than half were females and 75% worked in community practice. Prince Edward Island showed the greatest percentage increase at 42.9%, with Alberta showing the smallest increase at 12.8%. The Northwest Territories showed a 40.5% decrease. The number of pharmacists per population served was lowest in the Northwest Territories, followed by New Brunswick and Ontario. The number of unemployed pharmacists seeking employment was 1,778 or 8.6% of the pharmacist workforce.

From the provinces for whom data was available, Ontario and Nova Scotia had the highest percentage of pharmacists who were either unemployed or employed in an area other than pharmacy.

Intresting isn’t it!

Personally, I didn’t expect this much growth demand for employment, especially in Ontario. If it goes on, what would be the consequences of pharmacist’s job market? better or worse? Let's see what happens.

Just to let you know,

The CIHI is a non-profit, independent organization with the mandate to collect and analyze information on health and health care in Canada and make this information publicly available. The data is then used to inform health policies, support the effective delivery of health services and raise awareness among Canadians. This is the first time CIHI has studied the supply and demographic trends of pharmacists in Canada.