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This article examines differences in birth outcomes by neighbourhood income and recent immigration for singleton live births in Toronto. The birth data were extracted from hospital discharge abstracts compiled by the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

This study uses administrative tax data and the Survey of Financial Security to explore trends in the number and characteristics of high-income Canadians, as well as their wealth and effective income tax rates, from 1982 to 2004. The paper uses a range of thresholds to delineate high income and emphasizes statistics on the top 5%, 1%, 0.1% and 0.01% of tax filers.

The study found that an individual income of $89,000 was needed to be counted among the top 5% if income recipients in 2004. A family income of $154,000 would place one in the top 5% of families. The growth in incomes at the high end has been quite rapid while incomes of the majority of the population remained stable. Compared with the U.S., Canada had significantly fewer high-income recipients in 2004, and their incomes were considerably less. Higher-income individuals tend to be middle aged married males that live in the larger urban centres. While women have made up a larger portion on the top 5% of tax filers since 1982, they have not made gains in the very highest income groups. High income Canadians have roughly the same share of total wealth as they do of total income.

High income Canadians, in line with an increasing share of total income, have been paying an increasing share of total personal income taxes. Their share of total income increased from 21% to 25% between 1992 and 2004 while their share of income taxes paid increased from 30% to 36%. At the same time their effective tax rate dropped from 29% to 27%. Thus despite lower tax rates the increase in incomes was large enough, when combined with the progressive tax system, to result in an increased share of total taxes paid by high income Canadians. There is considerable heterogeneity in effective tax rates at the individual level with some high income individuals facing an effective tax rate of over 45%, while some pay as little as 10%. The proportion of tax filers, across the income distribution, who pay zero taxes decreased between 1992 and 2004.

This newsletter is a brief description of projects within the Business and Labour Market Analysis Division of Statistics Canada. The research covers a wide range of topics including labour market issues, low income, immigration, business firm dynamics, pensions, productivity, technology and innovation, as well as economic geography.

Between the ages of 15 and 19, youth have three decisions to make: first, whether or not to graduate from high school; second, whether or not to go to postsecondary education; and finally, the type of institution in which to pursue that postsecondary education. Using data from the Youth in Transition Survey (YITS), this article examines these pathways to see if there are any differences between the provinces in the choices made by boys versus girls and by youth from lower-income backgrounds versus those from higher-income backgrounds. The target population for the Youth in Transition Survey (YITS), cohort A includes all 15 year-old students enrolled in an educational institution in Canada on December 31, 1999. Students were initially interviewed in April or May of 2000 and re-interviewed in February to May of 2002 and again, between February and June of 2004. Youth were questioned about their school and work activities for the two-year period directly prior to the interview date. Thus, the high school dropout and postsecondary participation rates presented here refer to the youth's schooling status as of December 2003, the last date for which data were collected. These results are representative of Canadian youth who were 15 years old as of December 1999.

This research examines the characteristics of non-elderly unattached Canadians who experience persistent low income and their transition patterns into and out of low income. It also examines the factors associated with increased risk of persistent low income.

The study found that unattached individuals aged 45 to 64, the activity limited, the not employed, visible minorities, and high school leavers all faced a higher rate of the most persistent low income (6 years out 6). Family formation reduced the incidence and persistence of low income.

Statistical analyses showed that among working-aged unattached individuals, those who faced the greatest risks of the most persistent low income included the unemployed and those who had reported limitations to work. Individuals also at great risk were those who had not completed high school, those who were aged 45 to 64, or those whose unattached status remained unchanged over the six-year study period.

Discussions related to work hours are typically driven by cross-sectional studies. Much less is known about the longitudinal perspective and the persistence of long hours or periods of underemployment. The annual hours of employees are examined over a five-year period to determine what proportion experience variable work years and how their well-being is affected.

Canadians of Chinese ancestry make up the largest non-European ethnic group in Canada. In fact, the Chinese community is the 5th largest of any ethnic group in Canada other than English or French. This report describes the basic social and economic characteristics of people in the Chinese community in Canada, including their population characteristics, family status, educational attainment, labour force experience and incomes. It is part of a series of profiles of the country's major non-European ethnic groups.

This report depicts the demographic characteristics, health and wellness, living arrangements, social networks and social participation, security from crime and victimization, work patterns and related activities, income and expenditures, and lifestyles of the population aged 65 and over. It examines many of these issues, where data allow, in terms of different age groups within the senior population, for example those aged 65 to 74 and those aged 85 and over. Information are also presented for individuals in the 55 to 64 age range.

The report also includes a chapter on Aboriginal seniors and a chapter on immigrant seniors.

It presents the most comprehensive statistical picture of the situation of Canada's senior population with data drawn from a wide array of sources including the census, as well as other surveys such as the National Population Health Survey, General Social Survey, Canadian Community Health Survey, and Survey of Labour and Income dynamics.

The deteriorating economic outcomes among immigrants entering during the 1980s and 1990s have prompted much public concern and policy debate. In 1993, immigrant selection procedures were further modified to increase immigrants' educational attainment and the share of immigrants in the "skilled" economic class. By 2000, dramatic increases in the educational attainment of entering immigrants and the share in the skilled class were observed. In the face of these and other changes, this research focuses on three issues: (1) whether entering immigrants economic outcomes improved after 2000 (the last date for which we have such information from the census), (2) low-income dynamics among successive cohorts of entering immigrants, including changes in the entry and exit probabilities, and the extent of "chronic" low income among successive cohorts, and, (3) whether rising educational attainment and increasing share in the "skilled" class resulted in improvements in economic outcomes as measured by poverty entry, exit and chronic low income.

Canadians of Chinese ancestry make up the largest non-European ethnic group in Canada. In fact, the Chinese community is the 5th largest of any ethnic group in Canada other than English or French. This report describes the basic social and economic characteristics of people in the Chinese community in Canada, including their population characteristics, family status, educational attainment, labour force experience and incomes. It is part of a series of profiles of the country's major non-European ethnic groups.

This article examines differences in birth outcomes by neighbourhood income and recent immigration for singleton live births in Toronto. The birth data were extracted from hospital discharge abstracts compiled by the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

This study uses administrative tax data and the Survey of Financial Security to explore trends in the number and characteristics of high-income Canadians, as well as their wealth and effective income tax rates, from 1982 to 2004. The paper uses a range of thresholds to delineate high income and emphasizes statistics on the top 5%, 1%, 0.1% and 0.01% of tax filers.

The study found that an individual income of $89,000 was needed to be counted among the top 5% if income recipients in 2004. A family income of $154,000 would place one in the top 5% of families. The growth in incomes at the high end has been quite rapid while incomes of the majority of the population remained stable. Compared with the U.S., Canada had significantly fewer high-income recipients in 2004, and their incomes were considerably less. Higher-income individuals tend to be middle aged married males that live in the larger urban centres. While women have made up a larger portion on the top 5% of tax filers since 1982, they have not made gains in the very highest income groups. High income Canadians have roughly the same share of total wealth as they do of total income.

High income Canadians, in line with an increasing share of total income, have been paying an increasing share of total personal income taxes. Their share of total income increased from 21% to 25% between 1992 and 2004 while their share of income taxes paid increased from 30% to 36%. At the same time their effective tax rate dropped from 29% to 27%. Thus despite lower tax rates the increase in incomes was large enough, when combined with the progressive tax system, to result in an increased share of total taxes paid by high income Canadians. There is considerable heterogeneity in effective tax rates at the individual level with some high income individuals facing an effective tax rate of over 45%, while some pay as little as 10%. The proportion of tax filers, across the income distribution, who pay zero taxes decreased between 1992 and 2004.

Between the ages of 15 and 19, youth have three decisions to make: first, whether or not to graduate from high school; second, whether or not to go to postsecondary education; and finally, the type of institution in which to pursue that postsecondary education. Using data from the Youth in Transition Survey (YITS), this article examines these pathways to see if there are any differences between the provinces in the choices made by boys versus girls and by youth from lower-income backgrounds versus those from higher-income backgrounds. The target population for the Youth in Transition Survey (YITS), cohort A includes all 15 year-old students enrolled in an educational institution in Canada on December 31, 1999. Students were initially interviewed in April or May of 2000 and re-interviewed in February to May of 2002 and again, between February and June of 2004. Youth were questioned about their school and work activities for the two-year period directly prior to the interview date. Thus, the high school dropout and postsecondary participation rates presented here refer to the youth's schooling status as of December 2003, the last date for which data were collected. These results are representative of Canadian youth who were 15 years old as of December 1999.

This research examines the characteristics of non-elderly unattached Canadians who experience persistent low income and their transition patterns into and out of low income. It also examines the factors associated with increased risk of persistent low income.

The study found that unattached individuals aged 45 to 64, the activity limited, the not employed, visible minorities, and high school leavers all faced a higher rate of the most persistent low income (6 years out 6). Family formation reduced the incidence and persistence of low income.

Statistical analyses showed that among working-aged unattached individuals, those who faced the greatest risks of the most persistent low income included the unemployed and those who had reported limitations to work. Individuals also at great risk were those who had not completed high school, those who were aged 45 to 64, or those whose unattached status remained unchanged over the six-year study period.

Discussions related to work hours are typically driven by cross-sectional studies. Much less is known about the longitudinal perspective and the persistence of long hours or periods of underemployment. The annual hours of employees are examined over a five-year period to determine what proportion experience variable work years and how their well-being is affected.

This report depicts the demographic characteristics, health and wellness, living arrangements, social networks and social participation, security from crime and victimization, work patterns and related activities, income and expenditures, and lifestyles of the population aged 65 and over. It examines many of these issues, where data allow, in terms of different age groups within the senior population, for example those aged 65 to 74 and those aged 85 and over. Information are also presented for individuals in the 55 to 64 age range.

The report also includes a chapter on Aboriginal seniors and a chapter on immigrant seniors.

It presents the most comprehensive statistical picture of the situation of Canada's senior population with data drawn from a wide array of sources including the census, as well as other surveys such as the National Population Health Survey, General Social Survey, Canadian Community Health Survey, and Survey of Labour and Income dynamics.

The deteriorating economic outcomes among immigrants entering during the 1980s and 1990s have prompted much public concern and policy debate. In 1993, immigrant selection procedures were further modified to increase immigrants' educational attainment and the share of immigrants in the "skilled" economic class. By 2000, dramatic increases in the educational attainment of entering immigrants and the share in the skilled class were observed. In the face of these and other changes, this research focuses on three issues: (1) whether entering immigrants economic outcomes improved after 2000 (the last date for which we have such information from the census), (2) low-income dynamics among successive cohorts of entering immigrants, including changes in the entry and exit probabilities, and the extent of "chronic" low income among successive cohorts, and, (3) whether rising educational attainment and increasing share in the "skilled" class resulted in improvements in economic outcomes as measured by poverty entry, exit and chronic low income.

This newsletter is a brief description of projects within the Business and Labour Market Analysis Division of Statistics Canada. The research covers a wide range of topics including labour market issues, low income, immigration, business firm dynamics, pensions, productivity, technology and innovation, as well as economic geography.