• 32

Percentage of two-parent families working full-time, year-round in 2005, more than double what it was in 1980 (15 per cent). (Source)

• 51

Percentage of single mothers working full-time, year-round in 2005, up from 43 per cent in 1980. (Source)

• 62.6

Percentage of women in Canada who had paid employment in 2009, up from 53.8 per cent in 1984. (Source, page 262)

• 72

Percentage of men in Canada who had paid employment in 2009, down from 76.7 per cent in 1984. (Source, page 262)

• 2.3 

Percentage increase in part-time jobs from 2008 to 2009, countering the 2.5 per cent loss in full-time jobs. (Source, page 267)

• 37.1

Percentage of Canadians aged 25-44 who said working part-time in 2009 wasn’t their choice — there was no full-time work available. Compared to 27.7 per cent of workers over 45. (Source, page 277)

• 2.7 million

Number of self-employed workers in Canada in 2009, up dramatically from 1.3 million in 1979. (Source, page 285)

• 2.3 million

Number of full-time workers in Canada who had rotating shifts or irregular schedules in 2005. (Source)

• 29

Percentage of shift workers who expressed somewhat more dissatisfaction with their work-life balance in 2005. (Source)

• 35.5

Number of hours worked, on average, in Quebec each week in 2006 — the shortest average work week in Canada. (Source)

• 38.9

Number of hours worked, on average, in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2006 – the highest average work week in Canada. (Source)

• 50

Average number of hours Canadian immigrants with more than one job worked in 2008 — 2.3 hours per week more than Canadian-born multiple-job holders. (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 on the first of each month.

Hennessy's Index

Hennessy's Index

Trish Hennessy, author of the monthly Hennessy’s Index, is director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ Ontario office. Read back issues of Hennessy’s Index at CCPA: https://www.policyalternatives.ca/index...