The Downtown East Side has a reputation for being a poverty stricken neighbourhood where the average annual income of a person is $14,024 - and half of this is covered by government subsidies. About 38% of the residents do not yet have their high school diploma which leads to a problem for those who would like to participate in economic life. While the unemployment rate is low (5%), 60% of the people in the DTES aren't counted as being part of the work force. (Being part of the work force includes having a job or looking for a way to participate in the economy in some way - or looking for a job.) The homeless, may or may not be part of this figure because they do not get counted in the census and it is difficult to know how many actually get counted. Aboriginals are also concentrated in this area, possibly because housing costs are much lower.
Unemployment is a big issue for both the individual and the government. The Labour Force Survey (which is taken on a monthly basis) account for the labour force which includes anyone who presently has a job, or does not have a job but is looking for one. The unemployment rate measures the percentage of the labour force who does not have a job. This does not include people that are in prison, in the army, or live on Indian reserves. According to the article, the low unemployment rate may not reflect what the situation actually is on the DTES. Most likely, the large number of homeless people, Aboriginals, and are not accounted for in this figure. Since these figures help the government effectively use their resources, how helpful are they in reflecting the issues in the Downtown East Side?
If the government is going to put money and effort into having a Labour Force Survey, I think the numbers should be a little more accurate. Anyone who looks at the survey results and has visited the DTES would probably agree that they contradict each other. The hidden unemployed (members of the population who are not actively seeking a job because they do not believe there are suitable jobs available) should definitely be factored into this survey because this includes the homeless who, if they don't have a high school diploma, may believe that there wouldn't be any jobs for them. I think this would be important so the governement can be forced to look at the situation for people in the DTES and help them accordingly.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090209.wdtes_whatworks0209/BNStory/thefix/
1 comment:
I've been down to Vancouver's DTES and there is a lot of homeless people. However, not all of these people are considered hidden unemployed because I've heard of a homeless person saying that they have been employed to a job. It's just that they quit in the first few days because they think working is more tiring than being on the streets.
I do agree that the numbers should be a bit more accurate because of the misplacement of the number of homeless people, and others. Maybe Statistics Canada could create a new group. Who knows? :)
-M.MAN (Block E)
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