Hennessy's Index

A number is never just a number: About women

rabble staff — Sat, 07 Mar 2015 21:43:06 +0000

Sunday, March 8, 2015

Half

Number of women in Canada who have experienced at least one incident of physical or sexual violence since the age of 16. (Source)

Percentage of all Canadians who say they personally know at least one woman who has been sexually or physically assaulted. (Source)

Six

On average, every six days a woman in Canada is killed by her intimate partner. (Source)

3,330

Half of women in Canada have experienced at least one incident of physical or sexual violence since the age of 16. This IWD, Hennessy's Index presents the facts on gendered violence in Canada.

How many Canadians don't feel financially secure? A lot.

rabble staff — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 18:24:14 +0000

Hennessy's Index looks at appeal of middle-class economics at a time when 90 per cent of Canadians don't feel financially secure.

A number is never just a number: The appeal of middle-class economics

rabble staff — Wed, 28 Jan 2015 19:38:30 +0000

Monday, February 2, 2015

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52%

Percentage of Canadians who self-identify as middle class when asked to describe their "social and financial place in society," according to a November 2014 Pollara poll.

73%

Percentage of Quebecers who said they were middle class -- the province most likely to do so, followed by Alberta (57%), the Prairies (47%), B.C. (46%), Atlantic provinces (44%), and Ontario (43%).

57%

When asked, about half of Canadians self-identify as middle class. Hennessy's Index looks at appeal of middle-class economics at a time when 90 per cent of Canadians don't feel financially secure.

A number is never just a number: Political divides

rabble staff — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 17:41:28 +0000

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

62%

Percentage of Canadians who place themselves along the middle of the political spectrum, according to an Environics survey of public opinion.

24%

Proportion of Canadians who self-identify as right-wing -- 10 percentage points higher than those who saw themselves on the political right in 2010. They're more likely to be male, in the top income bracket, and/or immigrant.

14%

Proportion of Canadians who self-identify as left-wing. They're more likely to be under 30, university-educated, and/or cite no religious affiliation.

37%

Canadians who identify as right or left on the political spectrum are more likely to be interested in politics, according to a recent survey. Here's how those political divisions stack up.

A number is never just a number: Billionaires

rabble staff — Tue, 02 Dec 2014 14:28:27 +0000

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

There is one billionaire for every three million people in the world.

2,325

Number of billionaires in the world in 2014 -- a 7 per cent increase since last year and it represents an all-time record high. They control nearly 4 per cent of the world's wealth.

$7.3 trillion (U.S.)

Combined worth of the world's billionaires in 2014 -- up 12 per cent since last year. That's higher than the market capitalization of all the companies included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Percentage of the world's billionaires living in the United States. It's the country with the most billionaires -- 571 of them.

The number of billionaires in the world in 2014 reached 2,325 -- a 7 per cent increase since last year and it represents an all-time record high. They control nearly 4 per cent of the world's wealth.

A number is never just a number: Minimum wage mythology

rabble staff — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 13:20:41 +0000

Monday, November 3, 2014

Number of decades that the average of provincial minimum wages in Canada has remained unchanged in real terms. (Source)

$10.14

Economists found no statistically significant relationship between a higher minimum wage and a negative labour market outcome between 1983 and 2012 -- dispelling long-standing minimum wage mythology.

A number is never just a number: Good jobs, bad jobs

rabble staff — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 20:29:04 +0000

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

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%

There's been a steady decline in the number of quality jobs in Canada since the late-1980s, a reflection of the rise in part-time jobs and self-employment as well as lower pay.

Crude: Lac-Mégantic by the numbers

rabble staff — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 20:32:24 +0000

Oil by rail exports from Canada to the U.S. increased by 900 per cent between 2009 and 2012. With increased oil shipments on Canada's railways, can current regulations prevent another Lac-Mégantic?

A number is never just a number: Lac-Mégantic crude

rabble staff — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 20:24:08 +0000

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Number of rail cars carrying Bakken crude oil that crashed into the Quebec community of Lac-Mégantic in July 2013, killing 47 people. (Source)

Percentage of tank cars carrying crude oil in North America (at the time of the accident) that were outdated DOT-111 rail cars deemed unsuitable for such transportation. All 72 cars on the MM&A trains that crashed into Lac-Mégantic were old DOT-111s. (Source)

The number of carloads of oil transported by rail in 2013 totalled 160,000. That's set to triple to 510,000 carloads a day by 2016. Where are the regulations for shipping oil by train safely?

A number is never just a number: Child-care costs vs. university tuition

rabble staff — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 12:31:31 +0000

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

$11,100

Average annual cost of child care for a toddler in Ontario in 2012. Compare that to the $7,180 average cost of university tuition fees in Ontario in 2012/13. (Source and source)

$10,884

Which costs more in Canada: child care or university tuition? Without a universally affordable Canadian child-care plan in place, the numbers across the majority of provinces may surprise you.

A number is never just a number: Voter turnout -- how low can we go?

rabble staff — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 16:44:47 +0000

Friday, June 13, 2014

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52.1

Percentage of voters who cast a ballot in the 2014 Ontario election (unofficial count), up a bit from the province's 2011 historic low voter turnout of 48 per cent. (Source and source)

At 52.1 per cent, the percentage of voters who cast a ballot in the 2014 Ontario election is up from the province's 2011 historic low of 48 per cent. How does it fit into voter turnout across Canada?

A number is never just a number: Middle-class angst

rabble staff — Wed, 30 Apr 2014 18:03:11 +0000

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Percentage of Canadians who self-identify as middle class. That's down from almost 70 per cent in 2002. (Source)

$1,600

The decline in median market household income between 2008 and 2011. In 2008 median market family was $49,300. (Source: CANSIM 202-0201)

Only 47 per cent of Canadians self-identify as middle class today, down from almost 70 per cent in 2002. This month, Hennessy's Index breaks down the numbers behind Canada's middle-class angst.

A number is never just a number: Equal Pay Day facts

rabble staff — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 19:46:49 +0000

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Percentage pay gap between men and women in Ontario in 2011, the most recent year of data available, based on average annual earnings. That's up from a 28 per cent gender pay gap in 2010.

68.5 cents

How much Ontario working women made in 2011 for every man's dollar. That's down from 72 cents in 2010.

$200

Increase in Ontario men's average annual earnings between 2010 and 2011. They earned an average of $49,000 in 2011.

$1,400

Decrease in Ontario women's average annual earnings between 2010 and 2011. They earned an average of $33,600 in 2011.

38.5

Recognizing April 16, 2014 as Equal Pay Day is a step in the right direction. But what's still missing is a strategic plan to close the gender pay gap.

A number is never just a number: The skills gap trope

rabble staff — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 15:36:43 +0000

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Number 1

Canada has more workers with post-secondary training than any other industrialized country. More than half of Canadians aged 25-34 have a post-secondary diploma or certificate; 28.9 per cent held a university degree in 2006 -- up from 14.9 per cent in 1981. (Source and source)

Half

The conclusion based on a review of the "best peer-reviewed research in Canada" is that there "is no evidence of a national labour shortage." So why is the skills shortage such a popular trope?

A number is never just a number: Tax cuts 101

rabble staff — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 22:35:54 +0000

Monday, March 3, 2014

70 years

The last time Canadian federal tax revenues have been this low (as a share of the economy). (Source)

29%

Top federal personal income tax rate for anyone earning from $136,270 to you name it. In 1981, the rate for anyone earning $119,000 or more (1981 dollars) was 43 per cent. (Source)

$2.5 billion

With Canadian federal tax revenues at their lowest in 70 years, Hennessy's Index goes back to the basics of public revenue generation with a lesson in tax cuts.