The Weekly Review, October 21 to 25, 2024

Proportion of businesses impacted by cyber security incidents continues to decline in 2023

In 2023, about 1 in 6 (16%) Canadian businesses were impacted by cyber security incidents. The proportion of businesses impacted by cyber security incidents has been declining since 2019, with 21% of businesses being impacted that year and 18% in 2021. In Canada, large businesses (-7 percentage points) reported the largest drop in 2023 but remained the most likely to be impacted (30%).

Source: Impact of cybercrime on Canadian businesses, 2023

International students and temporary foreign workers have less access to affordable housing compared with Canadian-born renters

The study "Do international students and temporary foreign workers pay more than Canadian-born individuals in the rental market?" found that, in 2021, international students paid 10% more in monthly rent per unit compared with Canadian-born individuals in the same urban area, while temporary foreign workers (TFWs) paid 21% more. However, the rental cost difference for TFWs decreased to 5% when comparing renters with similar household characteristics (e.g., household size) living in the same neighbourhood and in similar dwellings.

Source: Economic and Social Reports, October 2024

Family violence against children and youth reaches highest recorded level

In 2023, 26,777 children and youth (aged 17 years and younger) were victims of police-reported family violence. Of these, more than three in five victims (62%) were girls. Most often, family violence against children and youth was perpetrated by a parent (60%), while 16% was perpetrated by a sibling and 24% was perpetrated by another type of family member. The rate of family violence against children and youth reached 362 victims per 100,000 population (296 for children aged 11 years and younger, and 485 for youth aged 12 to 17 years) in 2023—the highest rate since comparable data became available in 2009.

Source: Trends in police-reported family violence and intimate partner violence in Canada, 2023

The number of Canadians receiving regular Employment Insurance benefits increased in August 2023

The number of Canadians receiving regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits rose by 7,400 (+1.5%) in August, the third increase in four months. Prior to these increases, the number of regular EI beneficiaries had held relatively steady from September 2023 to April 2024. On a year-over-year basis, the number of regular EI beneficiaries was up by 26,000 (+5.6%) in August. Compared to August 2023, the number of regular EI beneficiaries was up for all major demographic groups. The largest increases were recorded among men aged 55 and older (+7.5%; +5,800), core-aged men (+7.2%; +13,000) as well as young men aged 15 to 24 years (+4.0%; +1,300).

Source: Employment Insurance, August 2024

The most popular baby names of 2023

These days, girl names ending in “a” are all the rage: Olivia, Emma, Amelia, Sophia, Mia, Mila and Sofia were among the top 10 girl names for babies born in 2023. Some of these names are veterans of the popularity ranks: Olivia has been the number one girl name for eight years in a row and has ranked among the top 10 girl names since 2001. Compared with the girl names, the most fashionable boy names have less of a common thread. That said, most of the top boy names last year were shared with our neighbour to the south: Noah, Liam, Theodore, William, Oliver and Lucas ranked among the top 10 names in both Canada and the United States in 2023.

Source: The most popular baby names of 2023