Poverty In

Canada
Individual Factors
Education generally lower education means
lower pay
Employability barriers to employment due to
discrimination ie) age, obesity, looks
Disability mental or physical can be due to
discrimination or ability to work
Marital Status married lower risk especially
for women.
Societal Factors
Wage levels good economic times = higher
wages. Minimum wage may also be set below
poverty line.
Income distribution is all the wealth staying at
top?
Economic cycles Recession = high
unemployment and generates higher poverty
numbers
High Risk Groups

Young Adults
Hard to break into job market with a decent starting wage
Those without post secondary education or specialized
skills are at highest risk
In 2011 15-25 age group had 14.2% unemployment rate
vs. 7.1% national average. Difference has remained
stagnant in last 30 years.
Many unemployed youth are hidden because they have
part-time work so they are underemployed
Single Parent Families
Average 1/3 the income of a 2 parent family
In 2010 had a poverty rate of 18.7%
Female led had a poverty rate of 33.9%
This number has seen dramatic improvement in the last
30 years 1981 49.3% of lone parent families were poor
Dramatic stresses regarding childcare
Single parent families

Women
Poverty rate among unattached women in 2010 was
37.9%
Largely due to wage
In 2011 average weekly earnings were $720 for women vs.
$960 for men.
In 2008 university grads average salary was $62 800 for
women and 91 800 for men
Women account for 60% of minimum wage earners and are
more likely to work less than 36 hrs per week



Older Workers
Often older, higher paid workers are laid off first for
money savings (w/o union)
Difficult to find a new job especially at old pay those
55-64 average 35.5 wks unemployed vs. 22.9 for those
25-54 (2011)
Often lack up to date skills or education
May end up cyclically unemployed
Have heavy financial responsibilities ie) mortgage, family
Seniors 65+
Approximately 15% live in poverty
Single elderly women are at highest risk because they
often lack full pension 16.8% 2008
Fixed income makes particularly vulnerable in times of
high inflation
Unable to find work at decent pay if they need to remain
in job market.
This number has improved significantly over the decades
as retirement savings and women working has increased
People with Disabilities

Face the barrier of discrimination and lack of
understanding in the workplace
In 2010 13.6 % lived in poverty
This number has improved as awareness has grown in the
last few decades
Recent Immigrants
Face discrimination barriers
May face language barriers
Often have difficulty having education and experience
recognized
In 2011 had a 12.3% unemployment rate and 17.6% lived
in poverty
Aboriginal Canadians
Often face discrimination and cycle of poverty as barriers
Off reserve aboriginals have 14.8% unemployment and
15.2% live in poverty
Those on reserves often live in third world conditions
United Nations has consistently criticized Canada for lack
of support
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgT1RLtLl8
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Children
Obviously contingent upon parents status poor parent =
poor children
May lead to life of poverty
Approx. 10% of children live in poverty and 33% of
aboriginal children.
Canada ranked 18 out of 35 industrialized countries

Other Poverty information
L.I.C.O low income cut off poverty line in Canada.
Usually done in after tax dollars
The working poor homes with one worker accounted
for 39% of the poor in Canada and 11.6 were two
worker homes
Over 90% of the poor will be above the poverty line
within 3 years
Canadas overall unemployment number 7.1% as of
December 2012 and overall poverty rate of 9%