Economics & Economic Security
Labour and jobs data (employment rates, unemployment rates, and participation), individual income, household income, and low income data.
Low Income
What does this measure?
The Low-income measure, after-tax (LIM-AT) is a measure used to assign households as low income based on census data. This section uses data from the 2016 Census which is based on reported income from 2015.
How is the LIM-AT Calculated?
The Low-Income Measure, After-Tax (LIM-AT) refers to a fixed percentage (50%) of median adjusted after-tax income of private households. The household after-tax income is adjusted for household size. This adjustment reflects that a household’s needs increase, but at a decreasing rate, as the number of members increases. Using data from the 2016 Census of Population, the cut-off for a household to be considered low-income according to this measure is half the Canadian median of the adjusted household after-tax income, multiplied by the square root of household size. The median is determined based on all persons in private households where low-income concepts are applicable. Thresholds for specific household sizes are presented in Table 4.2 Low-income measures thresholds (LIM-AT) for private households of Canada, 2015, Dictionary, Census of Population, 2016. When the unadjusted after-tax income of a person’s household falls below the cut-off for their household size, the person is considered to be in low income according to LIM-AT. For the 2016 Census, the reference period is the calendar year 2015 for all income variables.