4. Linking procedures by variable

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4.1 Household income, household disposable income and compensation of employees

Estimates of household income, household disposable income and compensation of employees are drawn from two sources. Modern estimates for household income and household disposable income are from CANSIM table 384-0040. Household income estimates are composed of primary household income and current transfers received. Household disposable income equals personal income less current transfers paid. Compensation of employees is taken from CANSIM table 384-0037 and is equal to wages and salaries paid in Canada, plus employer social contributions.

The historical estimates are taken from the National Income and Expenditure Accounts Annual Estimates from 1926 to 1986. Household income is taken from Table 35, and corresponds to what is currently referred to as primary income plus current transfers. Household disposable income is taken from Table 37. A projector for compensation of employees is taken from Table 38, and it corresponds to wages, salaries, and supplementary labour income.

For the modern and historical vintages employed here, the units are not identical, but are reasonably comparable through time. The household sector covers persons and unincorporated businesses in both vintages. However, differences in imputation methods for items such as income from owner-occupied housing, or for compositional shifts at the margin for entries such as clergy income, affect the absolute levels. The largest conceptual difference is for compensation of employees, which includes a balance of payments adjustment after 1981.

For all provinces, the growth rates of the historical series are used to back-cast estimates of provincial levels and for outside Canada. For the territories, the data are less detailed. In historical estimates from 1926 to 1950, the territories are included with British Columbia. From 1951 to 1986, the historical estimates combine Yukon and an aggregate of the Northwest Territories that includes Nunavut. The data for the territories are, therefore, combined into a territorial aggregate that is used to back-cast estimates in earlier periods. As more detailed data became available at later dates, values for Yukon and the Northwest Territories including Nunavut are presented. Finally, starting in 1999, separate series for the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are presented. Estimates for Newfoundland and Labrador begin in 1949.