Older Canadians were working later in life and spending less time in leisure activities in 2005, according to a survey released today by Statistics Canada.

The survey found that both men and women spent roughly an hour a day more in paid work last year than they did in 1998.

Men aged 55 to 64 experienced an increase in paid work to 4.4 hours a day on average from 3.2. This resulted in less time for both unpaid work (such as housework) and active leisure.

Men spent 3.5 hours a day on average in active leisure, half an hour less than they did in 1998. Time spent on unpaid work declined from 3.4 to 3.1 hours a day on average.

Among women of the same age, the biggest impact was a decline of more than half an hour a day in time devoted to active leisure. On average, women spent 3.6 hours a day, down from 4.3 hours.

They spent most of their time (about 4.8 hours on average) in unpaid work, exactly the same as in both 1998 and 1992. In 2005, they spent 2.4 hours a day on average on paid work, up about an hour from 1992.

Data collected from StatsCan’s Labour Force Survey show that employment among workers aged 55 and over has also increased. Two-thirds (68%) of men had jobs, up from 59% in 1998. For women, 51% had jobs in 2005, compared with 41% six years earlier.

The StatsCan survey was based on information collected in last year’s General Social Survey. Approximately 6,550 respondents aged 55 and over kept a diary detailing their activities in the day before they were interviewed as part of the survey. Time spent on various activities are averaged over a seven-day week period.