The Business and Community Newsletter – August 2022

Feature article

Police-reported crime statistics in Canada, 2021

In 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic continued to have profound impacts on Canada’s economy, health care system and society in general. Policies enacted to contain the spread of the virus resulted in unprecedented disruptions in the social and economic lives of Canadians, changing how we interact, socialize, learn, work and consume.

There were over 2 million police-reported Criminal Code incidents (excluding traffic) in 2021, about 25,500 more incidents than in 2020. At 5,375 incidents per 100,000 population, the police-reported crime rate — which measures the volume of crime — increased 1% in 2021, following a 9% decrease in 2020. In 2021, the violent crime rate increased 5%, while the property crime rate decreased 1%. Following a large decrease in 2020, the property crime rate was the lowest it has been dating back to 1965.

The number of police-reported hate crimes increased 27% to 3,360 incidents in 2021. Compared with 2019, hate crimes have increased 72% over the last two years. More hate crimes targeting religion (+67%) (including Jewish, Muslim and Catholic) and sexual orientation (+64%) accounted for most of the national change, along with more incidents targeting race or ethnicity (+6%).

In 2021, there were 5,996 opioid-related offences in Canada, representing a rate of 16 per 100,000 population, a 13% increase compared with 2020. Police-reported rates of heroin (-32%), ecstasy (-25%), methamphetamine (-20%) and cocaine-related drug offences (-15%) all decreased. Additionally, rates of impaired driving dropped 9% compared with 2020.

2021 Census of Population

Linguistic diversity and use of English and French in Canada –released August 17,2022

Check out the 55 data tables on the Language topic from the 2021 Census of Population

Families, households, and marital status; Income; Canadian Military experience – released July 13, 2022

To find out more, visit Census program.

Webinars

Statistics Canada is delighted to invite you to our free upcoming webinar.

2021 Census of Population: Language

Description:

On August 17, 2022, Statistics Canada released the fourth set of results from the 2021 Census of Population.

This release presents a portrait of linguistic diversity in Canada, from the knowledge of official languages to languages spoken at home.

The census webinar will provide you with an overview of key results, including:

• Concepts and definitions related to various aspects of language diversity;
• Results, how to access data products and resources online and more.

Following the presentation, Statistics Canada officials will be available to answer questions.

Language, Dates, Times, and Registration Links

English: August 24, 2022, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., Eastern Time
Self-Register: English Webinar on August 24, 2022

French: August 24, 2022, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Eastern Time
Self-Register: French Webinar on August 24, 2022

Once on the registration page, the language that is displayed can be modified using the option at the bottom of the web page.

Joining a webinar is really simple, using Zoom. All you need is a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone or Android device. You can also join by telephone only. We recommend that you join the session at least 5 minutes before the scheduled starting time.

Recommendation: Prior to the session, download the Zoom application on your computer for a better user experience. If you connect with an iPad, iPhone or Android device, you will be required to download the Zoom application from the Apple/Google Play Store.

Statistics Canada strives to accommodate and make our services accessible to all people. If you have any accessibility requirements, please let us know when you register for a session.

Labour Force Survey July 2022

Employment little changed in July

Employment was little changed on a monthly basis in July (-31,000). Compared with May, employment was down 74,000 (-0.4%).

The number of public sector employees fell by 51,000 (-1.2%) in July, while the number of self-employed workers increased by 34,000 (+1.3%). The number of private sector employees was little changed.

Employment fell among women aged 55 and older (-33,000; -1.7%) and women aged 25 to 54 (-31,000; -0.5%) in July. For men aged 55 and older, employment rose by 32,000 (+1.4%). It was little changed among youth aged 15 to 24 and men aged 25 to 54.

In the services-producing sector, employment fell by 53,000 (-0.3%) in July, with losses spread across several industries, including wholesale and retail trade, health care and social assistance, and educational services.

Total hours worked were down 0.5% in July.

The average hourly wages of employees were up 5.2% (+$1.55 to $31.14) on a year-over-year basis in July, matching the pace of wage growth recorded in June.

Labour Force Survey in brief: Interactive app

This interactive visualization application provides a comprehensive picture of the Canadian labour market using the most recent Labour Force Survey data available. The estimates are seasonally adjusted and available by province, sex, age group and industry. Historical estimates, going back 5 years, are also included for monthly employment changes and unemployment rates. The interactive application allows users to quickly and easily explore and personalize the information presented. Combine multiple provinces, sexes and age groups to create your own labour market domains of interest.

Business

Consumer Price Index, June 2022

On a year-over-year basis, prices rose more in June than in May in eight provinces. Price growth was fastest in the Prairie provinces as gasoline prices accelerated the most in these provinces.

Chart 5 - (source)
The Consumer Price Index rises at a faster pace in eight provinces

Energy prices rise in Alberta

Consumers in Alberta paid 54.6% more for natural gas year over year in June. Natural gas prices were pushed higher amid a combination of low supply in Canada as well as higher demand in Canada and the United States. Higher global prices associated with supply uncertainty related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine have also contributed upward pressure on natural gas prices in Alberta.

Similarly, electricity prices in Alberta rose 35.6% on a year-over-year basis in June, compared with a 21.1% increase in May. Over half of the electricity used in Alberta is produced from natural gas.

In that spirit, we invite you to Statistics Canada's upcoming virtual Data Story "Seeing Everyone: Gender Diversity Data." This event will highlight results from the 2021 Census, including new information about sex at birth and gender: Canada is the first country to provide census data on transgender and non-binary people, and diversity of couples: State of the union: Canada leads the G7 with nearly one-quarter of couples living common law, driven by Quebec.

Monday, August 22, 2022 | 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm (ET). Virtual.
Registration deadline: Monday, August 22, 2022, 12:00 pm (ET).
Open to the general public. Space is limited.
Following remarks by Josée Bégin, Director General, Labour Market, Education and Socio-Economic Well-Being, Moderator and Public Service Pride Champion Jason Bett will lead a panel discussion featuring:

• Dominic Beaulieu-Prévost, Director, Department of Sexology, Université du Québec à Montréal
• Mona Greenbaum, Executive Director, LGBT+ Family Coalition
• Harlan Pruden, Co-founder of the Two-Spirit Dry Lab and Indigenous Knowledge Translation Lead at Chee Mamuk, an Indigenous health program at the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control
• Anu Radha Verma, Research Manager, Community-Based Research Centre
  Please note that you will receive a confirmation and reminder email with the Zoom link a few days prior to the event.

Simultaneous interpretation (English, French) and sign language (ASL, LSQ) interpretation will be available during the event.

Did you know…

Pension plans in Canada, as of January 1, 2021

Participating in a registered pension plan, which is a pension plan established by employers or unions for employees, is an important employee benefit which provides a measure of security for those in retirement. Altogether, nearly 6.6 million Canadians were active members in a registered pension plan (RPP) in 2020, up 57,000 (+0.9%) from 2019.

Membership in the public sector grows, while membership in the private sector shrinks

Public sector plans added over 60,000 participants (+1.7%) to their membership, while private sector membership edged down, falling by just under 3,100 members (-0.1%) in 2020.

The increase in female membership in public sector plans accounted for nearly three-quarters (72.5% or 43,900) of the total increase, which brought the total female membership to almost 2.28 million. Male membership increased by 16,600, bringing the total male membership in the public sector to 1.26 million.

For more details check out The Daily.

Also worth reading

Visit StatsCAN Plus for the most recent data stories:

• LBGTQ2+ people in Canada may be more vulnerable to challenges related to COVID-19
• Less tobacco use for Canadian youth, but their reasons for vaping are concerning
• Take off, eh! A look at air travel entering the third summer of the pandemic
• Statistically speaking: E does not always stand for excellent

This one-stop data portal introduces a framework to organize and access data on social inclusion for ethnocultural groups and immigrants in Canada and responds to an increased demand for statistical indicators to support evidence-based decision-making aimed at building a more equitable and inclusive society.

The social inclusion indicators published on this portal are categorized into 11 themes relevant to the analysis of social inclusion. They are drawn from a variety of data sources, including the Census of Population, social and health surveys, and other administrative databases produced at Statistics Canada.

The themes are: participation in the labour market; civic engagement and political participation; representation in decision-making positions; basic needs and housing; health and wellbeing; education, training and skills; income and wealth; social connections and personal networks; local community; public services and institutions and; discrimination and victimization.

View the Data tables on social inclusion indicators.