The Weekly Review, September 9 to 13, 2024

Growing dissatisfaction with housing affordability

From 2018 to 2022, shelter costs increased nationally by 20.6%. In 2022, 14.5% of households were dissatisfied with the affordability of their housing, marking a 3.4 percentage-point increase from 2018 (11.1%). Households felt the pressure on their overall household budget in 2022, because of an overall rise in shelter costs, as well as price increases for other items that make up the Consumer Price Index, such as gasoline (+34.0% since 2018) and food (+22.7% since 2018).

Source: Housing affordability in Canada, 2022

About one in five youth who felt their mental health was "good" or better in 2019 no longer feels that way in 2023

The life changes that occur during the transition to adolescence and young adulthood can contribute to lowering levels of self-rated mental health for some youth. Among the 88% of youth aged 12 to 17 who rated their mental health as "good", "very good", or "excellent" in 2019, about one in five (21%) reported a decline to "fair" or "poor" by 2023. A majority (62%) of those with "fair" or "poor" mental health in 2019 still had low self-rated mental health four years later.

Source: 2023 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth — Changes in the mental health of respondents from the 2019 survey

Full-time employment is the main driver of increase in employment among mothers of young children

Over the past 25 years, mothers of children aged five or younger have made significant gains in the labour market, with their employment rates increasing from 62% in 1997 to 73% in 2023. Employment gains among mothers of young children have been driven by an increase in full-time employment. Overall, 82% of employed mothers were working full-time, while 18% had part-time hours in 2023.

Source: Study: Closing the gap? Assessing the labour market outcomes of mothers in one-parent families with young children

Household net worth inches up in the second quarter of 2024

Households were slightly wealthier in the second quarter of 2024 than they were in the first quarter, as their net worth—the value of all assets minus all liabilities—edged up $42.4 billion (+0.2%) to $17,007.6 billion. Despite slowing financial markets and a softening housing market, the value of household total assets surpassed $20 trillion for the first time in the second quarter.

Source: National balance sheet and financial flow accounts, second quarter 2024

Canada’s net international investment position increases in the second quarter of 2024

Canada's net foreign asset position, the difference between its international financial assets and international liabilities, reached $2,062.4 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2024, an increase of $88.6 billion from the first quarter. The upward revaluation due to market price changes and, to a lesser extent, fluctuations in exchange rates contributed to the increase.

Source: Canada's international investment position, second quarter 2024

Wholesale sales grow in July 2024

Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) grew 0.4% to $82.7 billion in July 2024. Sales increased in four of the seven subsectors, led by the agriculture supplies industry group within the miscellaneous subsector and the food, beverage and tobacco subsector. Wholesale sales were 1.1% higher in July, compared to the same month one year earlier.

Source: Wholesale trade, July 2024

One in five men diagnosed with cancer has prostate cancer

Estimates suggest that just over 127,100 Canadian men will be diagnosed with a new cancer in 2024. Just over one in five of these diagnoses will be prostate cancer, making it by far the leading cancer found among men. The good news is that when prostate cancer is diagnosed early, the prognosis is encouraging. The five-year net survival rate consistently approaches 100% among men diagnosed with prostate cancer at one of the first three stages but declines to 41% at stage IV.

Source: Prostate cancer: The bane of men