The Working Poor

Publisher:  National Council of Welfare, Canada
Year Published:  1977
Pages:  30pp   Price:  Free   Resource Type:  Book
Cx Number:  CX492

"Sixty per cent of Canada's poor derive the greatest part of their income from work."

Abstract: 
"Sixty per cent of Canada's poor derive the greatest part of their income from work." This statement counteracts the popular myth of the poor being poor because they are lazy. The statement is documented in this booklet which is an analysis of Statistics Canada's 1974 survey of Consumer Finances. The booklet examines a number of aspects of the working poor in Canada based on Canada-wide data. For example, it looks at area of residence, types of families (including unattached individuals), education, sex of family head, and sources of income. It compares data on the working poor with that on "other poor" people and the "non-poor." Among other things, the data points out that both unattached individuals and those under twenty-five are over represented among the working poor. Those over 55 are over represented in the "other poor." Women who head families or are single, face a much greater likelihood of being poor than men. The data also indicates that "low-income families are much less likely to have two or more earners than non-poor families." The format of the representation is straight reporting of data with little reflection on how it got to be this way.