112,000
That’s the number of private-sector jobs that disappeared in Canada in August 2014. (Source)
87,000
That’s the number of newly self-employed Canadians in August 2014. (Source)
20%
How much less a self-employed Canadian earns, on average, compared to a “regular employee.” (Source)
66%
That’s the participation rate in Canada’s labour market in August 2014 — the worst it’s been in 13 years. (Source)
22
That’s the percentage of low-paying jobs in Canada. By comparison, that’s high among wealthy OECD nations. (Source)
$27,800
That’s the median wage for individuals in Canada — meaning half of Canadians earn more than $27,800 a year and half earn less. OECD analysts define a low-paying job as one that pays less than two-thirds of a country’s median wage. (Source and source)
14
That’s the percentage decline in quality jobs in Canada since the late-1980s, according to the CIBC’s Employment Quality Index. It’s a reflection of the rise in part-time jobs and self-employment as well as lower pay. (Source)
2
That’s the number of provinces in Canada that haven’t experienced a decline in quality jobs, according to the CIBC Employment Quality Index. That’s right, only two: resource-rich Alberta and Saskatchewan. (Source)
$15
That’s the hourly pay for the person serving your coffee over at Tim Horton’s in Estevan, Saskatchewan. (Source)
28,800,000
That’s how many pounds of fertilizer it would take if the previous Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan CEO had been given his $6,565,611 compensation package in the form of fertilizer instead of cash and stock options. (Source)
$11
That’s how much the person pouring your coffee at the Baker’s Dozen in Bowmanville, Ontario is earning an hour. In Ontario, that is the official minimum wage. (Source and source)
$15
That’s the new federal minimum wage rate that the New Democrats will be campaigning on in the lead-up to the 2015 federal election. (Source)
$7,960,300
That’s the average compensation of Canada’s highest-paid 100 CEOs in 2012. Yeah, that’s a lot of digits. (Source)
$46,634
That’s the average wage in Canada in 2012. The country’s highest-paid 100 CEOs earned that much cash by 1:11 p.m. on the first official working day of the year. (Source)
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternative’s Trish Hennessy has long been a fan of Harper Magazine’s one-page list of eye-popping statistics, Harper’s Index. Instead of wishing for a Canadian version to magically appear, she’s created her own index — a monthly listing of numbers about Canada and its place in the world. Hennessy’s Index — A number is never just a number — comes out at the beginning of each month.
Photo: Tania Liu/flickr
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