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The role of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit in alleviating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the employment income of racialized workers

Release date: May 23, 2024

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Overview of the study

Using data from the 2021 Census, this study investigates the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on racialized workers, focusing on the change in median annual employment income from 2019 to 2020, and the extent to which income support payments from the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) offset income losses in 2020 among workers affected by the pandemic. Differences between racialized and non-racialized workers are investigated, along with differences among groups of racialized workers, as well as the intersectionality of race and gender. Due to the focus on earnings-loss replacement for racialized and non-racialized workers, the study examines employees between the ages of 25 and 54 with employment income of at least $10,600 in 2019 and $3,980 in 2020, omitting the self-employed, recent immigrants, non-permanent residents, and Indigenous people.

  • The pandemic had a stronger negative impact on employment of racialized workers than their non-racialized counterparts and a larger proportion of racialized workers (29%) than non-racialized workers (24%) received financial support through the CERB in 2020, with racialized women (30%) being more likely than racialized men (27%) to receive the CERB.
  • In 2019, the median employment income of racialized workers ($54,100) was 11% lower than that of their non-racialized counterparts ($61,000). From 2019 to 2020, the gap between the median employment income of racialized workers ($56,100) and that of non-racialized workers ($62,100) varied from 11% to 10%.
  • This is the result of two contrasting effects:
    • First, employment income of racialized workers who did not receive CERB grew faster than that of their non-racialized counterparts, reducing the gap for this group from 8% in 2019 to 5% in 2020.
    • Second, among workers who did receive the CERB, the gap in employment income between racialized and non-racialized workers grew from 10% to 16% during the same period.
  • CERB income support payments helped to stabilize employment income losses for those who received them. In 2020, when CERB payments were added to employment income, the income gap between racialized workers and non-racialized workers who received the CERB was 11%, which is lower than the employment income gap when CERB payments were not taken into account (16%) and closer to the gap observed for this group in 2019 (10%).
  • From 2019 to 2020, workers who received the CERB lost an average of $8,100 in employment income, which was offset by $7,600 of financial assistance from the CERB program (i.e., $0.95 of assistance per dollar lost). Racialized men ($9,500) and women ($7,900) lost respectively $500 and $1,300 more than their non-racialized counterparts ($9,000 and $6,600, respectively).
  • Racialized women experienced the biggest drop in median employment income between 2019 and 2020 (-23%). They were also more likely to receive the CERB (30%). However, CERB payments more than offset their lost earnings on average ($1.09 of assistance per dollar lost). This was a higher replacement rate than for racialized men ($0.83/dollar) or non-racialized men ($0.78/dollar), but a lower rate than for non-racialized women ($1.17/dollar).
  • CERB support payments compensated for a greater share of employment income losses experienced by racialized workers, particularly among men, when personal and employment characteristics were taken into account. Nevertheless, these same characteristics alone do not explain the differences in employment income observed between racialized and non-racialized workers.

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on pre-existing income disparities and systemic inequalities. Research conducted since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that the pandemic had differential impacts on the economic well-being of different population groups, particularly racialized groups, immigrants, women and youth.Note Note Note Note Note Racialized workers, particularly racialized women, experience underemployment and unemployment at higher rates, hold insecure jobs with fewer benefits, experience job loss, face discrimination, and experience higher levels of stress compared to other groups.Note Note Note Note Note Note These adverse labour market outcomes can exacerbate pre-the existing earning gaps and leave many racialized workers in precarious situations, especially in the face of economic shocks, such as the one caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Labour Force Survey, in 2020, nearly double the proportion of racialized people aged 15 years and older (29%) reported difficulty meeting financial needs compared to non-racialized people (16%).Note Note  During an early pandemic crowdsourcing survey in 2020, racialized participants were more likely to report a "moderate" or "major" impact of COVID-19 on their ability to meet their financial obligations (35%), compared with non-racialized participants (22%).Note Note

In terms of income and financial assistance received during the pandemic, over 4 in 10 racialized workers (of all age groups) who had employment income of at least $5,000 in 2019 received payments from the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) in 2020, compared to 3 in 10 non-racialized workers (32%).Note Women were also slightly more likely than men to have received the CERB (42% vs 41%).Note This was in part due to racialized groups’ higher representation in sectors affected by lockdowns and closures, such as the food and accommodation sector.Note Furthermore, certain racialized sub-groups (e.g., Black and Filipino immigrant women) were over-represented in occupations such as service and personal care work with higher risks of contracting COVID-19,Note  and fewer benefits,Note which in turn could lead to work stoppage and loss of income.

Using the 2021 Census of Population, this study examines the pandemic’s impact on employment incomes of racialized and non-racialized groups across genders, and the extent to which income support payments from the CERB offset employment income losses in 2020.

Two sets of income data are utilized: one comprising employment income alone and the other integrating CERB payments (employment income plus CERB payments). This distinction enables the isolation of the pandemic's impact while also examining the compensatory effect of the pandemic income support payments.

The current study’s population of interest is employees between the ages of 25 and 54 with employment earnings of at least $10,600 in 2019 and $3,980 in 2020.Note Note To ensure adequate labour market exposure before the onset of the pandemic, the analysis excludes immigrants arriving after 2017. The study also excludes non-permanent residents, self-employed individuals, and Indigenous populations.

In this study, the term “workers” refers to employees only since self-employed individuals are excluded from the analysis and the term “employment income” refers to all income received as wages, salaries and commissions from paid employment.

Textbox 1. The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) program

The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) program paid a taxable $2,000 for each four‑week eligible period up to a maximum of seven periods (or $500 per week for a maximum period of 28 weeks). The benefit eligibility period was from March 15, 2020, through September 26, 2020.

To be eligible for the CERB one must have met the following eligibility criteria:Note

  1. had a minimum 2019 income of $5,000 from employment, net self‑employment or provincial benefit payments related to maternity or parental leave in, 2019 or in the 12 months prior to the CERB application,
  2. had income below $1,000 for at least 14 days in a row during each 4‑week CERB eligibility period, and
  3. had loss of income due to one of four COVID‑19 related reasons.

These reasons included: reduced work hours because of COVID‑19; work stoppage because of COVID‑19; inability to work because of COVID‑19 (e.g., individual was taking care of someone); or having received regular EI or fishing benefits for at least one week since December 29, 2019 and having used up entitlement to those benefits. Effective September 27, 2020, those who were still unable to work were transitioned to a simplified Employment Insurance (EI) program or the Canadian Recovery Benefit (CRB).

Workers with a lower level of income most often received CERB income support payments

Overall, 1 in 4 workers (25%) received financial support through the CERB in 2020. A larger proportion of racialized workers (29%) than non-racialized workers (24%) received the benefit (Table 1).Note Racialized women (30%) were more likely than racialized men (27%) to receive the CERB, while there was no gender difference among non-racialized workers (24% for men and women). These results are consistent with previous findings.Note

Overall, CERB recipients tended to have lower pre-pandemic employment incomes than non-recipients, with about two-thirds (66%) earning less than $50,000 in 2019. Racialized workers (45%) were more likely than non-racialized ones (37%) to have employment incomes below $50,000.

Among racialized groups, Southeast Asian women had the lowest median employment income in 2019 ($44,400), with the highest likelihood of receiving the CERB in 2020 (40%). This was followed by West Asian women whose median employment income in 2019 was $47,300 and whose 35% rate of CERB take-up was second highest among all racialized groups. Among Korean women, 34% received the CERB in 2020, with their 2019 median employment income being also relatively low ($48,500).

By contrast, Chinese women, who had the highest median employment income ($57,800) in 2019, were less likely (25%) than all other racialized women to receive the CERB. They were only slightly more likely to receive CERB compared to non-racialized women (24%) who had the second highest median employment income ($52,800) in 2019.

For men, the proportion of racialized workers receiving the CERB was highest for Southeast Asians (33%), followed by Blacks (31%) and Filipinos (30%), all of whom had median employment incomes well below the overall median for men ($67,200). Japanese ($73,800) and Chinese ($70,400) men had the highest median employment incomes in 2019 and were the least likely among all population groups to receive the CERB in 2020 (20% and 22%, respectively). In comparison, 24% of non-racialized men received the CERB, with a median employment income at $69,200.


Table 1
Median employment income in 2019 and percentage of employees receiving the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) in 2020, by racialized group and gender, 2019 and 2020
Table summary
This table displays the results of Median employment income in 2019 and percentage of employees receiving the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) in 2020. The information is grouped by Population group (appearing as row headers), Total - Gender, Men+, Women+, Median employment income in 2019, Median employment income in 2020 and Received CERB in 2020, calculated using dollars and percentage units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Population group Total - Gender Men+ Women+
Median employment income in 2019 Median employment income in 2020 Received CERB in 2020 Median employment income in 2019 Median employment income in 2020 Received CERB in 2020 Median employment income in 2019 Median employment income in 2020 Received CERB in 2020
dollars percentage dollars percentage dollars percentage
Racialized population 54,100 56,100 29 61,000 62,400 27 48,000 50,200 30
South Asian 56,000 58,500 28 64,900 67,200 25 47,300 49,500 31
Chinese 63,400 65,700 24 70,400 72,400 22 57,800 59,900 25
Black 50,800 53,600 31 55,000 57,100 31 47,100 50,700 30
Filipino 48,900 50,000 31 53,700 54,600 30 44,900 46,500 32
Arab 53,800 56,600 30 60,300 63,000 28 44,900 47,600 32
Latin American 51,700 53,000 31 59,100 60,000 29 45,300 46,300 32
Southeast Asian 50,000 50,000 36 56,200 56,400 33 44,400 43,900 40
West Asian 55,400 58,100 32 62,800 66,700 29 47,300 49,700 35
Korean 55,200 56,900 31 61,500 63,600 28 48,500 49,600 34
Japanese 59,700 60,400 25 73,800 73,800 20 51,400 52,200 29
Racialized group not included elsewhere 55,600 57,200 29 61,800 62,900 28 50,000 52,300 30
Multiple racialized groups 57,700 59,700 27 62,900 65,000 26 52,600 54,700 27
Non-racialized population 61,000 62,100 24 69,200 69,400 24 52,800 54,400 24

CERB payments mitigated employment income losses among racialized workers

Among those who received CERB payments in 2020, employment income decreased for both racialized and non-racialized workers between 2019 to 2020Note (Chart 1). However, the declines were proportionally greater among racialized women (-23%) and men (-20%) compared to their non-racialized counterparts (-17% and -15% for women and men respectively).

CERB income support payments have greatly contributed to stabilizing employment income losses between 2019 and 2020 for workers who received them. In 2020, median employment income plus CERB payments amounted to $41,000 among racialized men, representing a smaller loss (-3%), compared to 2019, than the decline observed when considering employment income alone (-20%). A similar situation is observed for non-racialized men, whose median income dropped by 2% (compared with 15%) when CERB payments were taken into account.

Employment income plus CERB payments was even higher than employment income in 2019 for both racialized and non-racialized women. Indeed, when CERB payments were added to employment income, the median income of racialized women who received CERB payments rose from $33,700 in 2019 to $34,300 in 2020 (+2%), while that of their non-racialized counterparts rose from $35,100 to $36,600 (+4%) during the same period.

Additionally, when CERB payments were added to employment income, the income gap between racialized workers ($37,100) and non-racialized workers ($41,600) who received the CERB was 11%, which is lower than the employment income gap in 2020 when CERB payments were not taken into account (16%), and closer to the gap observed for this group in 2019 (10%).

Meanwhile, the median employment incomes of racialized and non-racialized workers increased between 2019 and 2020 among workers who did not receive the CERB. Furthermore, the employment income of racialized men (+7%) and women (+8%) grew faster than that of their non-racialized counterparts (+3% and +6%, respectively) over this period.

As a result, when CERB payments were added to employment income in 2020, the income gap between racialized ($57,300) and non-racialized workers ($63,000), CERB recipients and non-recipients combined, was smaller in 2020 (9%) than in 2019 (11%) and smaller than the gap observed in 2020 when only employment income was taken into account (10%).

Chart 1 Median employment income, Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) recipients and non-recipients, by racialized group and gender, 2019 and 2020

Data table for Chart 1 
Data table for Chart 1
Table summary
This table displays the results of Data table for Chart 1 Received CERB, Did not receive CERB, Racialized population, Non-racialized population, Total - Gender, Women+ and Men+, calculated using dollars units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Received CERB Did not receive CERB
Racialized population Non-racialized population Racialized population Non-racialized population
Total - Gender Women+ Men+ Total - Gender Women+ Men+ Total - Gender Women+ Men+ Total - Gender Women+ Men+
dollars
2019 median employment income 37,300 33,700 42,300 41,300 35,100 49,100 62,800 56,700 69,200 68,400 60,400 75,900
2020 median employment income 29,200 25,800 33,700 34,800 29,100 41,700 67,500 61,400 73,700 71,300 63,800 78,200
2020 median employment income plus CERB payments 37,100 34,300 41,000 41,600 36,600 48,000 Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable

Employment income losses from the pandemic restrictions were greatest among racialized workers

From 2019 to 2020, the workers who received the CERB lost $8,100 in employment income, on average, and collected $7,600 of financial assistance from the CERB program (i.e., $0.95 of assistance per dollar lost). Racialized people lost $8,600, that is $800 more than non-racialized people ($7,800).

More particularly, racialized men lost $9,500 in employment income, slightly more than non-racialized men ($9,000). This was followed by racialized women ($7,900) and non-racialized women ($6,600) (Table 2).

Overall, these losses in employment income were partly or totally offset by CERB income support payments. On average, racialized women received $8,600 of financial assistance from the CERB (equivalent to $1.09 of assistance per dollar lost) and non-racialized women received $7,700 (equivalent to $1.17 of assistance per dollar lost).

Meanwhile, racialized men received $7,900 (equivalent to $0.83 of assistance per dollar lost) and non-racialized men received $7,000 (equivalent to $0.78 of assistance per dollar lost).

Some racialized groups experienced greater losses in 2020. Among men, high rates of income losses, in percentage, were observed for Chinese workers (-32%) followed by Japanese (-29%), Korean (-29%) and South Asian workers (-24%).Note Similar racialized groups were most affected among women.

The CERB payments more than offset lost employment incomes for all racialized groups of women, with the exception of three groups. In 2020, employment income plus CERB payments fell $1,700 short of 2019 earnings for Chinese women. Southeast Asian women and Japanese women also experienced a shortfall (less than $500). For men, apart from Black workers, CERB payments did not totally mitigate employment income losses, with losses ranging from $200 to $5,900 for the year.


Table 2
Change in employment income between 2019 and 2020 among employees receiving the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and average financial aid received from the CERB, by racialized group and gender, 2019 and 2020
Table summary
This table displays the results of Change in employment income between 2019 and 2020 among employees receiving the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and average financial aid received from the CERB. The information is grouped by Population group (appearing as row headers), 2019 median employment income, 2019-2020 average change in employment income, 2019-2020 average change in employment income plus CERB payments, Average total financial aid received from CERB and CERB assistance per dollar loss, calculated using dollars and ratio units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Population group 2019 median employment income 2019-2020 average change in employment income 2019-2020 average change in employment income plus CERB payments Average total financial aid received from CERB CERB assistance per dollar loss
dollars ratio
Women+
Racialized population 33,700 -7,900 700 8,600 1.09
South Asian 32,200 -7,700 700 8,400 1.09
Chinese 33,900 -11,000 -1,700 9,300 0.85
Black 34,600 -5,700 2,600 8,400 1.47
Filipino 36,400 -7,300 800 8,100 1.11
Arab 29,500 -5,700 2,900 8,600 1.51
Latin American 33,200 -6,900 1,400 8,400 1.22
Southeast Asian 32,300 -9,400 -400 8,900 0.95
West Asian 31,500 -7,500 1,400 9,000 1.20
Korean 32,100 -9,400 0 9,400 1.00
Japanese 33,800 -9,100 -300 8,900 0.98
Racialized group not included elsewhere 36,200 -8,400 100 8,500 1.01
Multiple racialized groups 35,800 -8,300 200 8,500 1.02
Non-racialized population 35,100 -6,600 1,200 7,700 1.17
Men+
Racialized population 42,300 -9,500 -1,600 7,900 0.83
South Asian 41,900 -10,100 -2,400 7,700 0.76
Chinese 39,300 -12,600 -3,800 8,800 0.70
Black 41,300 -7,400 600 8,000 1.08
Filipino 45,900 -8,800 -1,500 7,300 0.83
Arab 40,300 -8,200 -300 7,800 0.95
Latin American 44,100 -8,300 -800 7,500 0.90
Southeast Asian 42,100 -9,400 -1,500 7,800 0.83
West Asian 38,600 -8,500 -200 8,200 0.96
Korean 40,500 -11,600 -3,200 8,500 0.73
Japanese 47,300 -13,800 -5,900 7,900 0.57
Racialized group not included elsewhere 45,300 -9,400 -1,400 8,000 0.85
Multiple racialized groups 43,800 -9,900 -2,000 7,900 0.80
Non-racialized population 49,100 -9,000 -2,100 7,000 0.78

CERB payments compensate for a greater share of employment income losses among men when differences related to worker characteristics are taken into account

The socio-demographic and employment profiles of racialized and non-racialized workers can vary, impacting employment income and the extent to which income support payments from the CERB offset earnings losses in 2020. For instance, racialized workers tend to be younger on average. They are more likely than non-racialized people to have a bachelor’s degree or higherNote Note while less likely to find as good jobs as their non-racialized counterparts early in their careers.Note To assess the possible impact of these socio-demographic differences, regression analysis was used to analyze how differences in age, education, immigrant status and period of immigration, knowledge of official languages, industry of employment, occupation, and age of youngest child of person, could explain the extent to which income support payments from the CERB payments offset employment income losses in 2020.Note

The results show that CERB income support payments compensate for a greater share of employment income losses experienced by racialized workers, particularly among men, when these factors were taken into account. This indicates that differences between racialized and non-racialized workers explain part of the variation in employment income for these two groups between 2019 and 2020, and therefore the extent to which income losses have been offset by the CERB.

Indeed, with characteristics similar to those of non-racialized workers, adjusted employment incomes earned in 2020 plus CERB payments of racialized men and women who received the CERB would have been $60,200 and $47,300, respectively (Table A.2). Thus, employment income (plus CERB payments) of racialized men in 2020 is $100 higher than employment income earned in 2019 when adjusted amounts are considered, while it is $1,600 lower when unadjusted employment income is taken into account. Among racialized women, the adjusted change in employment income plus CERB payments, between 2019 and 2020, was $600, which is slightly lower than the unadjusted change (+$700) during the same period.

Overall, CERB payments compensated for a greater share of employment income losses in 2020 among men who received the CERB when differences related to worker characteristics were taken into account. Among racialized men, the gap between the adjusted employment income plus CERB payments in 2020 and employment income earned in 2019, ranged from -$800 to +$1,200, compared with -$5,900 to +$600 when differences in worker characteristics were not taken into account. Japanese, Chinese and Filipino male workers were among those who experienced the greater losses, with adjusted losses reaching $800, $600 and $400, on average, respectively. Among non-racialized men, the adjusted gap between employment income plus CERB payments in 2020 and employment income earned in 2019 (-$400) was also smaller than the unadjusted one (-$2,100).

Among racialized women, Japanese (-$300) and Chinese (-$100) workers still experienced some income losses in 2020, even when CERB payments and their individual characteristics were taken into account. Conversely, CERB payments fully offset employment income losses of Southeast Asian women, whose adjusted employment income plus CERB payments in 2020 was higher than employment income earned in 2019 (+$300). Overall, the gap between the adjusted employment incomes plus CERB payments in 2020 and employment incomes earned in 2019 ranged from -$300 to +$1,600, compared -$1,700 to +$2,900 for unadjusted employment incomes. Among non-racialized women, the adjusted employment income plus CERB payments was equal to the employment income earned in 2019 ($50,800 in both cases), while it was higher (+$1,200) when unadjusted incomes were taken into account.

Nevertheless, differences in personal and employment characteristics alone do not explain the differences in employment income observed between racialized and non-racialized workers. Indeed, the results show that there remains a gap between employment income (to which CERB payments are added) of racialized and non-racialized workers, among those who received the CERB (6%) (Table A.2), as well as among CERB recipients and non-recipients combined (5%) (Table A.3). However, these gaps are smaller than the unadjusted gaps (11% and 9%, respectively).

Conclusion

This study analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on employment incomes, and the extent to which CERB offset employment income losses for racialized and non-racialized men and women in 2020. It finds that the pandemic had a stronger negative impact on racialized workers’ employment income, especially women’s; but conversely that CERB more than offset the employment income losses of women, including racialized women.

CERB payments played a crucial role in stabilizing income by off-setting lost earnings of racialized and non-racialized workers during the pandemic. This study underscores the policy importance of income support programs like the CERB for potential future events affecting employment and income. Future research should explore shifts in income gaps among genders within racialized communities and investigate specific industries or occupations to deepen our understanding further.

Sadjad Kalhor is an analyst at Diversity and Sociocultural Statistics at Statistics Canada.

Data source, methods and definitions

Data source

This study uses data from the 2021 Census of Population on financial aid received through the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB),Note as well as 2019 and 2020 income, extracted from tax files.Note The reference period for the income variables are calendar years 2019 and 2020. Income for 2019 is presented in 2020 constant dollars. The Census was carried out during the week of Sunday, May 2 to Saturday, May 8, 2021.

Two sets of income data are utilized: one comprising employment income alone and the other integrating CERB payments (i.e., employment income plus CERB payments). This distinction enables the isolation of the pandemic's impact while also examining the compensatory effect of CERB. While CERB was launched in the first weeks of the pandemic as a temporary replacement to Employment Insurance, Employment Insurance Benefits were not considered for this study. Other pandemic relief benefits such as the Canada Emergency Student Benefit and the Canada Recovery Benefit are also excluded from this study.

The analytical sample focuses on core-aged employees (25 to 54 years old) with significant employment incomes the year preceding the pandemic (i.e., at least $10,600 in 2019) and $3,980 in 2020). The $10,600 cut-off is calculated using average minimum wage (12.72 per hour in 2019) multiplied by 28 weeks of full-time work (30 hours or more per week) when the CERB was in effect from March 15 to September 26. The $3,980 cut-off is calculated using 10 weeks of work (30 hours per week or more) multiplied by $13.26 per hour in 2020. The qualitative findings are robust up to the cut-off, and even a $5,000 threshold (because the CERB only was available to individuals earning over $5000 in 2019) yielded the same qualitative outcomes. The analytical sample also limited the upper tail of the distribution by truncating the 99th percentile of employment income (cut-off at $255,890 for 2019 and $264,230 for 2020).

Furthermore, the sample excluded immigrants who arrived after 2017, non-permanent residents (NPRs) because their work arrangement differed from that of the rest of the workforce in 2019 and 2020.Note Additionally, Indigenous respondents were not included in the analysis for this study.Note The total number of individuals included in the analysis is around 6.89 million employees.

Techniques

The study uses both descriptive and multivariate analysis of employment incomes for 2019 and 2020 (with and without CERB payments) and their changes over that period. Accounting for related independent variables, employment incomes are estimated by the Ordinary least Square (OLS method). The results of the multivariate regression are reported in Appendix.

Research limitations

The CERB data used in the analysis represent only those directly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, whereas those impacted indirectly are not captured in this study. Also, the $500 per-week benefit paid through the CERB program to the impacted employees might not have sufficiently compensated for the actual losses for those who lost more than $500 worth of employment earnings per week due to the pandemic. In addition, ineligibility for the CERB is problematic if an employee lost part of their income due to the pandemic but were ineligible to receive the CERB. In this case, the analytical estimates would somewhat underestimate the varying impact of the pandemic. Finally, while the Census data offer a great deal of information to analyze the income of individuals, there are some other factors (e.g., hours worked, job changes, and hourly earnings rate changes) that the data do not provide, and as such, they are not controlled for in the analysis.

Definitions

Racialized population: The concept of racialized population is measured with the “visible minority” variable. This information has been collected by Statistics Canada since the 1996 Census of Population to implement the Employment Equity Act. The “non-racialized” group is measured with the category “Not a visible minority” from the variable, excluding Indigenous respondents. Indigenous respondents are not part of the racialized group, nor the non-racialized group. “Visible minority” refers to whether or not a person belongs to one of the visible minority groups defined by the Employment Equity Act. The Employment Equity Act defines visible minorities as "persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour." The visible minority population consists mainly of the following groups: South Asian, Chinese, Black, Filipino, Latin American, Arab, Southeast Asian, West Asian, Korean, and Japanese.

Employment income: This refers to gross wages and salaries before deductions for such items as income taxes, pension plan contributions and employment insurance premiums during the reference period. While other employee remuneration such as security options benefits, board and lodging and other taxable allowances and benefits are included in this source, employer's contributions to pension plans and employment insurance plans are excluded. Other receipts included in this source are military pay and allowances, tips, commissions and cash bonuses associated with paid employment, benefits from earnings-loss replacement plans or income-maintenance insurance plans, supplementary unemployment benefits from an employer or union, research grants, royalties from a work or invention with no associated expenses and all types of casual earnings during the reference period.

Gender: Beginning in 2021, the Census asked questions about both the sex at birth and the gender of individuals. While data about sex at birth are needed to measure certain indicators, for the purposes of this release, gender (as opposed to sex) is the standard variable used in concepts and classifications. For more details on the new gender concept, see Age, Sex at Birth and Gender Reference Guide, Census of Population, 2021. Given that the non-binary population is small, data aggregation to a two-category gender variable is sometimes necessary to protect the confidentiality of responses provided. In these cases, individuals in the category “non-binary persons” are distributed into the other two gender categories and are denoted by the “+” symbol.

Men(+): This category includes men, as well as some non-binary persons.

Women(+): This category includes women, as well as some non-binary persons.

Appendix


Table A.1
Marginal effects on employment incomes, ordinary least squares models, 2019 and 2020
Table summary
This table displays the results of Marginal effects on employment incomes. The information is grouped by Characteristics (appearing as row headers), 2019 employment income as dependent variable, 2020 employment income (excluding CERB payments) as dependent variable and 2020 employment income (including CERB payments) as dependent variable, calculated using dollars units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Characteristics 2019 employment income as dependent variable 2020 employment income (excluding CERB payments) as dependent variable 2020 employment income (including CERB payments) as dependent variable
dollars
Canadian Emergency Response Benefit receipt
Did not receive CERB (ref.) Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable
Received CERB -13,962.63Note * -24,457.20Note * -17,105.48Note *
Racialized groupTable A.1 Note 1
South Asian -5,518.50Note * -4,846.85Note * -4,816.54Note *
Chinese -2,453.41Note * -2,590.86Note * -2,408.87Note *
Black -3,420.10Note * -2,184.47Note * -2,037.78Note *
Filipino -5,855.83Note * -5,572.95Note * -5,659.96Note *
Arab -5,585.39Note * -4,216.72Note * -4,029.80Note *
Latin American -3,572.68Note * -3,108.15Note * -3,023.22Note *
Southeast Asian -2,894.89Note * -2,747.06Note * -2,559.21Note *
West Asian -4,720.96Note * -3,257.93Note * -3,030.22Note *
Korean -6,168.34Note * -5,460.60Note * -5,251.06Note *
Japanese -1,548.49Note * -2,078.35Note * -2,022.30Note *
Racialized group n.i.e. -1,864.83Note * -1,769.69Note * -1,676.13Note *
Multiple racialized groups -2,779.69Note * -2,576.69Note * -2,503.88Note *
Non-racialized population (ref.) Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable
GenderTable A.1 Note 2
Men+ (ref.) Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable
Women+ -13,446.47Note * -13,074.94Note * -13,026.22Note *
Age group
25 to 29 years -17,242.63Note * -14,246.56Note * -14,297.93Note *
30 to 34 years -10,231.43Note * -8,934.51Note * -8,952.85Note *
35 to 39 years -5,476.13Note * -4,406.18Note * -4,398.85Note *
40 to 44 years -2,387.06Note * -1,635.71Note * -1,627.68Note *
45 to 49 years -682.06Note * -121.96 -117.13
50 to 54 years (ref.) Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable
Highest certificate, diploma or degree
No certificate, diploma or degree -16,618.11Note * -17,015.33Note * -16,900.98Note *
Secondary (high) school diploma or equivalent -13,311.23Note * -14,048.32Note * -14,012.91Note *
Apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma -8,380.50Note * -9,362.96Note * -9,401.71Note *
College, CEGEP or other non-university certificate -9,460.60Note * -10,229.20Note * -10,234.38Note *
University certificate or diploma below bachelor's degree -6,791.34Note * -7,383.37Note * -7,352.86Note *
Bachelor's degree or higher (ref.) Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable
Knowledge of official languages
English only (ref.) Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable
French only -2,223.18Note * -1,345.87Note * -1,634.25Note *
English and French 1,884.20Note * 2,084.13Note * 2,013.11Note *
Neither English nor French -7,121.59Note * -7,279.45Note * -6,961.76Note *
Immigrant status and period of immigration
Non-immigrants (ref.) Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable
Long-term immigrants -3,318.92Note * -3,155.86Note * -3,081.12Note *
Immigrated between 2010 and 2015 -9,654.60Note * -8,439.78Note * -8,411.48Note *
Immigrated in 2016 or 2017 -11,108.80Note * -8,937.48Note * -8,890.65Note *
Age of youngest child of person, by age group
No child (ref.) Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable
Youngest child is less than 2 years of age -4,372.44Note * -6,196.56Note * -6,238.48Note *
Youngest child is 2 to 5 years of age 2,728.26Note * 2,363.70Note * 2,430.87Note *
Youngest child is 6 to 14 years of age 2,587.42Note * 2,884.48Note * 2,945.70Note *
Youngest child is 15 to 17 years of age 2,424.52Note * 2,703.77Note * 2,720.43Note *
Marital status
Never married (not living common law) -5,700.91Note * -5,290.36Note * -5,145.09Note *
Married (ref.) Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable
Living common law -2,513.26Note * -2,435.96Note * -2,408.86Note *
Separated, divorced or widowed -2,162.15Note * -1,868.65Note * -1,732.71Note *
Industry sectors
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting 1,227.74Note * 812.24Note * 728.11Note *
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction 48,618.90Note * 45,699.54Note * 45,861.62Note *
Utilities 35,523.97Note * 34,912.21Note * 34,943.85Note *
Construction 11,102.55Note * 10,169.52Note * 10,018.51Note *
Manufacturing 11,405.87Note * 10,348.60Note * 10,119.36Note *
Wholesale trade 14,523.51Note * 13,532.14Note * 13,479.49Note *
Retail trade 1,350.03Note * 1,277.41Note * 1,167.28Note *
Transportation and warehousing 12,625.79Note * 11,184.42Note * 11,221.26Note *
Information and cultural industries 13,602.77Note * 12,427.15Note * 12,506.45Note *
Finance and insurance 14,459.24Note * 15,267.16Note * 15,164.18Note *
Real estate and rental and leasing 8,438.61Note * 7,553.53Note * 7,594.90Note *
Professional, scientific and technical services 10,739.64Note * 9,610.02Note * 9,628.37Note *
Management of companies and enterprises 22,176.92Note * 22,346.02Note * 22,315.24Note *
Administrative and support, waste management and remediation services 1,867.31Note * 403.71Note * 477.91Note *
Health care and social assistance (ref.) Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable
Educational services 1,253.52Note * 763.61Note * 477.84Note *
Arts, entertainment and recreation 1,335.08Note * -3,428.72Note * -2,756.80Note *
Accommodation and food services -660.97Note * -4,144.37Note * -3,054.63Note *
Other services (except public administration) 1,559.81Note * -68.86 81.96
Public administration 13,183.94Note * 11,868.44Note * 11,886.81Note *
Full-time or part-time weeks worked in 2020
Worked mainly full-time weeks in 2020 (ref.) Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable
Worked mainly part-time weeks in 2020 -16,046.97Note * -19,348.54Note * -18,263.81Note *
Occupation Major Group
Legislative and senior managers 28,546.88Note * 32,549.37Note * 32,746.78Note *
Specialized middle management occupations in administrative services, financial and business services and communication (except broadcasting) 16,364.06Note * 18,941.73Note * 19,164.82Note *
Professional occupations in finance and business 4,191.29Note * 6,151.63Note * 6,392.11Note *
Administrative and financial supervisors and specialized administrative occupations -7,379.51Note * -6,264.79Note * -6,032.80Note *
Administrative occupations and transportation logistics occupations -11,651.64Note * -10,617.49Note * -10,345.40Note *
Administrative and financial support and supply chain logistics occupations -15,277.03Note * -14,223.72Note * -13,946.35Note *
Specialized middle management occupations in engineering, architecture, science and information systems 27,541.31Note * 31,016.68Note * 31,232.87Note *
Professional occupations in natural and applied sciences 8,585.03Note * 10,936.16Note * 11,124.79Note *
Technical occupations related to natural and applied sciences -4,874.98Note * -4,020.30Note * -3,837.79Note *
Specialized middle management occupations in health care 23,739.29Note * 29,654.00Note * 29,855.17Note *
Professional occupations in health 19,237.48Note * 22,230.77Note * 22,219.10Note *
Technical occupations in health 4,857.36Note * 6,334.12Note * 6,482.68Note *
Assisting occupations in support of health services -8,141.76Note * -5,327.58Note * -5,121.75Note *
Managers in public administration, in education and social and community services and in public protection services 17,572.10Note * 19,607.62Note * 19,921.65Note *
Professional occupations in law, education, social, community and government services 6,780.09Note * 8,582.22Note * 8,899.60Note *
Front-line public protection services and paraprofessional occupations in legal, social, community, education services 1,101.85Note * 2,348.84Note * 2,496.83Note *
Assisting occupations in education and in legal and public protection -6,963.08Note * -3,896.03Note * -3,963.81Note *
Care providers and legal and public protection support occupations -10,808.57Note * -9,137.19Note * -8,714.31Note *
Student monitors, crossing guards and related occupations -12,413.04Note * -9,499.08Note * -8,582.84Note *
Specialized middle management occupations in art, culture, recreation and sport 3,400.12Note * 4,726.59Note * 4,799.79Note *
Professional occupations in art and culture -6,743.09Note * -5,659.82Note * -5,401.42Note *
Technical occupations in art, culture and sport -4,914.33Note * -4,401.62Note * -4,030.30Note *
Occupations in art, culture and sport -6,375.61Note * -8,671.88Note * -7,844.06Note *
Support occupations in sport -8,908.03Note * -7,822.17Note * -7,363.08Note *
Support occupations in art and culture -4,011.58 -4,893.42 -4,435.36
Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services 5,082.16Note * 6,862.44Note * 6,991.08Note *
Retail sales and service supervisors and specialized occupations in sales and services -4,462.07Note * -3,166.44Note * -2,859.86Note *
Occupations in sales and services -9,398.80Note * -8,301.52Note * -7,721.96Note *
Sales and service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations -11,041.22Note * -10,349.49Note * -9,871.27Note *
Sales and service support occupations -13,830.56Note * -12,381.85Note * -11,791.15Note *
Middle management occupations in trades and transportation 5,495.54Note * 7,627.94Note * 7,837.27Note *
Technical trades and transportation officers and controllers (ref.) Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable
General trades -13,036.25Note * -11,974.44Note * -11,823.59Note *
Mail and message distribution, other transport equipment operators and related maintenance workers -15,291.83Note * -13,341.90Note * -13,129.38Note *
Helpers and labourers and other transport drivers, operators and labourers -15,153.22Note * -14,150.78Note * -13,891.56Note *
Middle management occupations in production and agriculture -4,400.26Note * -3,754.34Note * -3,464.01Note *
Supervisors in natural resources, agriculture and related production 4,604.19Note * 3,897.60Note * 3,964.26Note *
Occupations in natural resources and related production 1,997.64 233.63 446.66
Workers in natural resources, agriculture and related production -11,787.01Note * -12,527.73Note * -12,304.46Note *
Harvesting, landscaping and natural resources labourers -19,586.54Note * -19,129.23Note * -19,063.71Note *
Middle management occupations in manufacturing and utilities 13,073.49Note * 15,636.75Note * 15,918.67Note *
Processing, manufacturing and utilities supervisors and utilities operators and controllers 4,084.16Note * 6,236.41Note * 6,330.41Note *
Central control and process operators and aircraft assembly assemblers and inspectors 17,018.36Note * 17,771.95Note * 17,887.73Note *
Machine operators, assemblers and inspectors in processing, manufacturing and printing -15,029.40Note * -13,303.07Note * -13,259.42Note *
Labourers in processing, manufacturing and utilities -19,537.40Note * -17,797.73Note * -17,587.01Note *
Province of residence
Newfoundland and Labrador -5,000.41Note * -7,215.12Note * -7,255.54Note *
Prince Edward Island -14,319.40Note * -14,337.67Note * -14,450.54Note *
Nova Scotia -10,582.40Note * -10,499.44Note * -10,472.68Note *
New Brunswick -12,674.51Note * -13,336.77Note * -13,376.22Note *
Quebec -7,285.40Note * -7,025.78Note * -7,175.11Note *
Ontario (ref.) Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable
Manitoba -5,622.12Note * -6,080.41Note * -6,179.04Note *
Saskatchewan -428.42Note * -1,594.81Note * -1,649.36Note *
Alberta 6,986.49Note * 4,315.65Note * 4,299.95Note *
British Columbia 326.57Note * 705.43Note * 641.14Note *
Territories 14,116.62Note * 15,557.80Note * 15,453.31Note *

Table A.2
Predicted employment income, Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) recipients only, by racialized group and gender, 2019 and 2020
Table summary
This table displays the results of Predicted employment income. The information is grouped by Population group (appearing as row headers), 2019 employment income, 2020 employment income (without CERB), 2020 employment income (with CERB), Total - Gender, Women+, Men+, Women+ and Men+ , calculated using dollars units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Population group 2019 employment income 2020 employment income (without CERB) 2020 employment income (with CERB)
Total - Gender Women+ Men+ Total - Gender Women+ Men+ Total - Gender Women+ Men+
dollars
Racialized population 53,700 46,700 60,100 46,600 39,700 52,800 54,000 47,300 60,200
South Asian 52,300 45,300 58,700 45,300 38,500 51,500 52,700 45,900 58,900
Chinese 55,400 48,300 61,800 47,500 40,600 53,700 55,000 48,200 61,200
Black 54,400 47,400 60,800 48,100 41,200 54,300 55,600 48,800 61,800
Filipino 52,000 44,900 58,400 44,500 37,700 50,700 51,800 45,000 58,000
Arab 52,200 45,200 58,600 45,900 39,100 52,100 53,500 46,700 59,700
Latin American 54,200 47,200 60,700 47,000 40,200 53,300 54,500 47,700 60,700
Southeast Asian 54,900 47,900 61,300 47,400 40,600 53,600 54,900 48,200 61,100
West Asian 53,100 46,100 59,500 46,900 40,100 53,100 54,500 47,700 60,700
Korean 51,700 44,600 58,100 44,500 37,700 50,700 52,100 45,300 58,300
Japanese 56,300 49,200 62,700 48,200 41,400 54,400 55,700 48,900 61,900
Racialized group not included elsewhere 56,000 48,900 62,400 48,400 41,600 54,600 55,900 49,100 62,100
Multiple racialized groups 55,000 48,000 61,500 47,600 40,800 53,800 55,100 48,300 61,300
Non-racialized population 57,800 50,800 64,200 50,200 43,400 56,500 57,600 50,800 63,800

Table A.3
Predicted employment income, Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) recipients and non-recipients combined, by racialized group and gender, 2019 and 2020
Table summary
This table displays the results of Predicted employment income. The information is grouped by Population group (appearing as row headers), 2019 employment income, 2020 employment income (without CERB), 2020 employment income (with CERB), Total - Gender, Women+, Men+, Women+ and Men+ , calculated using dollars units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Population group 2019 employment income 2020 employment income (without CERB) 2020 employment income (with CERB)
Total - Gender Women+ Men+ Total - Gender Women+ Men+ Total - Gender Women+ Men+
dollars
Racialized population 64,200 57,200 70,600 64,900 58,100 71,100 66,900 60,100 73,100
South Asian 62,800 55,700 69,200 63,600 56,800 69,800 65,500 58,700 71,700
Chinese 65,800 58,800 72,200 65,800 59,000 72,000 67,900 61,100 74,000
Black 64,900 57,800 71,300 66,400 59,600 72,600 68,400 61,600 74,600
Filipino 62,400 55,400 68,800 62,800 56,000 69,000 64,600 57,800 70,800
Arab 62,700 55,700 69,100 64,200 57,400 70,400 66,300 59,500 72,500
Latin American 64,700 57,700 71,100 65,400 58,500 71,600 67,300 60,500 73,500
Southeast Asian 65,400 58,400 71,800 65,700 58,900 71,900 67,800 61,000 74,000
West Asian 63,600 56,500 70,000 65,200 58,400 71,400 67,300 60,500 73,500
Korean 62,100 55,100 68,500 62,800 56,000 69,100 64,900 58,100 71,100
Japanese 66,700 59,700 73,100 66,500 59,700 72,800 68,500 61,700 74,700
Racialized group not included elsewhere 66,400 59,400 72,800 66,700 59,900 72,900 68,700 61,900 74,900
Multiple racialized groups 65,500 58,500 71,900 65,900 59,100 72,200 67,900 61,100 74,100
Non-racialized population 68,300 61,300 74,700 68,600 61,700 74,800 70,400 63,700 76,600
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