Low Income in Canada: 2000-2002 Using the Market Basket Measure - June 2006
| Previous | Contents | Next |
V. A Focus on Other High-Risk Groups
Despite large numbers of low income, working-age families with a significant attachment to paid work, the previous section has identified the importance of having the MIR in a family attain significant annual hours of paid work in order to reduce the risk of experiencing both annual and persistent low income. In this section we examine a number of socio-demographic groups also identified by research using the LICOs-IAT as being particularly likely to experience persistent low income.18
These groups are lone parents with at least one child under age 18; unattached individuals aged 45-64; persons with work-limiting physical or mental disabilities; recent immigrants (those who came to Canada within the past 10 years); and Aboriginal Canadians living off-reserve.19 An economic family where the MIR is a member of any of these groups is said to be a high-risk family.20
1. Incidence
In 2002 of all working-age economic families the incidence of low income using the MBM was 18.3%. However, as Table 4a shows, for families whose MIR belonged to one or more of the high-risk groups the incidence of low income averaged 32.1%. This was over three times as high as the 10.6% rate for economic families where the MIR was not a member of a high-risk group.
| MIR by risk group status | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
| All MIRs 18-64 | 19.8 | 18.7 | 18.3 |
| Lone Parents | 38.4 | 37.3 | 41.1 |
| Unattached 45-64 | 42.2 | 39.1 | 35.0 |
| Work-Limited Disabled | 42.5 | 41.9 | 36.5 |
| Recent Immigrants | 31.2 | 30.8 | 30.3 |
| Aboriginals Off-Reserve | 31.3 | 30.4 | 28.1 |
| High-risk Group Member | 35.9 | 34.4 | 32.1 |
| Not High-risk Group Member | 12.0 | 11.4 | 10.6 |
| Children <18 by risk group status of MIR | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
| All Children (in families where MIR is 18-64) | 18.2 | 16.8 | 16.7 |
| Lone Parents | 42.0 | 39.6 | 44.4 |
| Work-limited Disabled | 33.3 | 32.7 | 28.7 |
| Recent Immigrants | 42.0 | 39.7 | 30.5 |
| Aboriginals Off-Reserve | 32.8 | 29.5 | 31.7 |
| High-risk Group Member | 36.4 | 34.9 | 32.8 |
| Not High-risk Group Member | 10.2 | 9.0 | 8.7 |
Between 2000 and 2002, the incidence of low income, using the MBM, for economic families where the MIR was not a member of a high-risk group fell from 12.0% to 10.6%. For families where the main income recipient was a member of at least one high-risk group the incidence of low income fell from 35.9% to 32.1%.
There was a significant decline in the incidence of low income over this period for two of the five groups of high-risk economic families - unattached individuals aged 45-64 and persons with work-limiting disabilities. Changes in the incidence of low income between 2000 and 2002 for the other high-risk groups were not statistically significant.
In 2002, 35.9% of all working-age families were headed by a member of a high risk group.21 But 62.8% of all low income, working-age families were headed by a high-risk group member. Similarly, the MIR in 35.0% of families headed by a person aged 18-64 with at least one child under age 18 was a member of a high-risk group. But a full 67.0% of low-income children were in such families.
2. Depth
There was little variation in the depth of low income between families headed by high-risk and non-high risk group members or between children in these families (see Tables 5a and 5b). Among the five high-risk groups, the depth of low income was smallest for lone-parent families and largest for families where the MIR was a recent immigrant. There was little variation between the depths of low income experienced by children living in families where the MIR belonged to any of the four high-risk groups which could have children.
| MIRs 18-64 by risk group status | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
| All MIRs 18-64 | 37.7 | 36.9 | 37.0 |
| Lone Parents | 27.6 | 27.9 | 27.9 |
| Unattached 45-64 | 42.9 | 38.7 | 37.2 |
| Work-Limited Disabled | 35.8 | 33.1 | 33.6 |
| Recent Immigrants | 32.1 | 34.7 | 40.8 |
| Aboriginals Off-Reserve | 35.1 | 35.3 | 36.6 |
| High-risk Group Member | 35.9 | 34.3 | 35.0 |
| Not High-risk Group Member | 38.9 | 40.3 | 39.6 |
| Children <18 by risk group status of MIR | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
| All Children <18 - MIR 18-64 | 25.9 | 26.9 | 25.4 |
| Lone Parents | 26.2 | 27.7 | 27.8 |
| Work-limited Disabled | 27.4 | 27.6 | 25.6 |
| Recent Immigrants | 27.7 | 31.9 | 28.8 |
| Aboriginals Off-Reserve | 25.5 | 29.6 | 27.4 |
| High-risk Group Member | 27.0 | 28.6 | 27.2 |
| Not High-risk Group Member | 24.5 | 26.9 | 23.0 |
3. Persistence
As Table 6a shows, over the period from 2000 to 2002, the incidence of persistent low income for all persons 18-62 who were the MIR in their family in 2000 was 12.0%. If they were not a member of a high risk group in 2000, the incidence of persistent low income was only 6.4%. However, it was 24.5%, or almost four times as high if they were a member of at least one high-risk group. Thus, the MIRs in high-risk groups were even more likely to experience persistent low income than they were to experience low income in 2002 compared to MIRs who were not members of a high-risk group. The incidence of persistent low income among the high-risk groups ranged from 16.7% for Aboriginals living off reserve to 30.2% for persons with a work-limiting disability.
As revealed in Table 6b similar patterns held over the period from 2000 to 2002 for children under age 16 in 2000 in economic families depending on the risk group status of their MIR in that year. Children living in lone-parent families in 2000 were those most likely to experience persistent low income.
| MIRs by risk group status in 2000 | Low Income at least 1 Year | Low Income every Year | Persistent Low Income |
| All MIRs 18-62 | 21.9 | 7.6 | 12.0 |
| Lone Parents | 48.5 | 18.5 | 28.9 |
| Unattached 45-64 | 41.2 | 21.9 | 29.8 |
| Work-limited Disabled | 46.2 | 22.7 | 30.2 |
| Recent Immigrants | 32.6 | 12.9 | 20.1 |
| Aboriginals Off-Reserve | 32.4 | 13.5 | 16.7 |
| High-risk Group Member | 39.0 | 17.0 | 24.5 |
| Not High-risk Group Member | 13.3 | 3.5 | 6.4 |
| Children <16 in 2000 by MIRs' Risk group status | Low Income at least 1 Year | Low Income every Year | Persistent Low Income |
| All Children <16 - MIR 18-62 | 22.8 | 7.8 | 12.5 |
| Lone Parents | 50.9 | 21.7 | 30.6 |
| Work-limited Disabled | 38.3 | 15.3 | 22.8 |
| Recent Immigrants | 39.8 | 16.5 | 24.4 |
| Aboriginals Off-Reserve | 33.6 | 14.9 | 16.3 |
| High-risk Group Member | 41.9 | 17.4 | 25.0 |
| Not High-risk Group Member | 14.3 | 3.9 | 7.0 |
18 See Michael Hatfield, "Vulnerability to Persistent Low Income" in Horizons, Volume 7, Number 2 (December 2004) pp. 19-26.
19 Aboriginal Canadians living on-reserve are even more likely than those living off-reserve to experience low income in any given year or over a period of years. However, low income thresholds are not calculated for reserves, nor are they included in the sample frame of the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics.
20 Recall that families include unattached individuals as well as families of two persons or more.
21 The term "head" refers to the MIR.
| Previous | Contents | Next |