A study provided extensive statistics and documentation of Canadian adults' work and learning activities. The study included statistics for household labor and community volunteer activities as well as paid employment. Learning activities included both formal course work and informal learning, as well as on-the-job training. Data sources were the 1998 National Survey of Learning and Work by the Research Network on New Approaches to Lifelong Learning (NALL); estimates of the extent of unpaid household and community work; the Adult Education and Training Survey; the 1996 census; the National Survey of Giving, Volunteering, and Participating; and the General Social Survey. Findings of the study included the following: (1) in contrast to the concerns about Canadians' need to become"lifelong learners," the study found that most Canadians are already extensively engaged in learning but that the needs for higher-level job skills has been greatly exaggerated; (2) in terms of work, Canadian adults are now spending about as much time in unpaid household and community work as they are in paid employment; (3) despite the rhetoric about a "knowledge-based economy," the study found only a gradual upgrading of job skill requirements, and knowledge workers still comprise a small minority of the labor force; (4) as a result of the increased amount of learning by adults and the slower increase of job requirements, many Canadians find themselves underemployed; and (5) instead of focusing efforts on further education and training for Canadians, the society and government should address major paid work reforms in order to prevent underemployment from becoming one of the major social problems of the 21st century. (Contains 160 references.) (KC)