Ottawa, July 19, 2012—Mental illnesses are costing Canada about
$20.7 billion in 2012 by reducing the number of workers
available in the labour force. This cost is growing at a rate of
approximately 1.9 per cent every year and is expected to rise to
$29.1 billion annually by 2030, according to a Conference Board
estimate of the economic impact of mental illness among working-
age Canadians. “When workers have poor mental health, they have
a lessened capacity to perform to their utmost. Sometimes
workers with mental illnesses drop out of the workforce
completely,” said Diana MacKay, Director, Education, Health and
Immigration. “With this loss to the labour supply now exceeding
$20 billion a year, employers and governments clearly need to
become more aware of mental health issues among Canadian workers
and committed to addressing them.” The labour force
participation rate is the percentage of working-age people who
are either employed or unemployed, but are actively looking for
work. This report, Mental Health I