The Weekly Review, November 4 to 8, 2024

More people employed in Alberta and New Brunswick, while Prince Edward Island posts a decline

Employment in Alberta rose by 13,000 (+0.5%) in October 2024, the second increase in three months. At 7.3%, the unemployment rate was little changed in the month. Employment also increased in New Brunswick in October (+3,300; +0.8%) and the unemployment rate was little changed at 6.8%. There were fewer employed people in Prince Edward Island in October (-1,100; -1.2%). The decline in employment, coupled with an increase in the number of Prince Edward Islanders in search of work, pushed the unemployment rate in the province up 2.9 percentage points to 10.0%.

Source: Labour Force Survey, October 2024

Over 9 in 10 enterprises created in 2021 survived during their first year

Among new enterprises with at least one employee that were born in 2021, the survival rate was 90.6% in 2022. Among those that were born in 2020, 72.9% were still active in 2022. Of the 66,370 enterprises that survived from 2020 to 2022, 76.3% were small firms with one to four employees.

Source: Entrepreneurship indicators of Canadian enterprises, 2022

Roughly one in five Indigenous people report experiencing unfair treatment, racism or discrimination from a health care professional

New data from the Survey Series on First Nations People, Métis and Inuit sheds light on health care access and experiences among Indigenous people aged 15 and older. In 2024, about 24% of First Nations people living off reserve, 23% of Inuit and 18% of Métis reported that they experienced some form of unfair treatment, racism, or discrimination from a health care professional in the 12 months prior to the survey.

Source: Health care access and experiences among Indigenous people, 2024

Revenue for amusement parks and arcades reaches all-time high in 2023

In 2023, the amusement parks and arcades industry has benefited from increased investment in new attractions and a sharper focus on the guest experience. Operating revenue for the amusement parks and arcades industry grew 12.4% to $1.1 billion in 2023, 42.6% higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019.

Source: Amusement and recreation industry, 2023

Few police-reported sexual assaults result in a sentence of custody

Just over one in five police-reported incidents of sexual assault (22%) during the period from 2015 to 2019 proceeded to court. Of these, just under half (48%) resulted in a finding of guilt, and of those, 50% resulted in a sentence of custody. Altogether, 5% of sexual assaults reported to police resulted in a sentence of custody.

Source: Criminal justice outcomes of police-reported sexual assault in Canada, 2015 to 2019

Over half the Canadians who died of influenza or pneumonia in 2022 were aged 85 or older

Approximately 9 in 10 Canadians (89.8%) who died of influenza and pneumonia in 2022 were aged 65 and older, with over half (53.1%) of the deaths occurring among those aged 85 and older. In 2019/2020, just over half of Canadians aged 65 and older (51.1%) had received the pneumococcal vaccine. However, just over one-quarter of older Canadians reported that they either had never heard of the pneumococcal vaccine (27.7%) or that their doctor had not recommended it (25.2%), despite public funding and a vaccination coverage goal of 80% for this age group by 2025.

Source: Influenza and pneumonia: Nothing to sneeze at