A periodic report on poverty in Saskatchewan
High poverty rates and deep poverty among Saskatchewan adults not living in families.
Among Saskatchewan adults aged 18-64 who live alone, poverty is especially great.
The 2018 Official Poverty Rate for Saskatchewan was 11.2 per cent but among non-elderly adults who were not living in families, the rate was over triple that, at 36 per cent.
While only 11 per cent of the province’s non-elderly live alone, this group accounts for 36 per cent of all poor persons in Saskatchewan.
The average income of these non-elderly non-family poor persons was approximately $11,800 in 2018, only 55 per cent of the Official Poverty threshold that averaged $21,400 across the province.
This deep poverty meant that these poor adults had incomes only one-third of the median income of all non-elderly adults living alone. For those receiving the average $8,800 social assistance rate for single employable persons, the gap was even greater.
Income estimates from Statistics Canada and maytree.com
See PDF of sk poverty dashboard – 3
References:
Statistics Canada data come from Tables 11-10-0135-01, 11-10-0190-01, and 11-10-0066-01. Poverty thresholds differ by region of Saskatchewan – averages presented here are regional averages weighted by population size of region. Social assistance data come from pp. 74-79 of Welfare in Canada, available for download at https://maytree.com/welfare-in-canada/. For more information on the Official Poverty Line see https://povertyfreesask.ca/sask-poverty-dashboard-1/.
Poverty Free Saskatchewan, January 2021