Study highlights importance of addressing low wages and job quality to reduce food insecurity.
Previous research on food insecurity in Canada found that two-thirds of food-insecure households relied on incomes from employment sources. However, little was known about the nature of the jobs that these working families depended on.
PROOF researchers at the University of Toronto used data from Statistics Canada’s Canadian Income Survey to examine the relationship between different types of employment and household food insecurity among working families.
The new study, published in Canadian Public Policy, reveals that a large majority, 89%,of food-insecure households reliant on employment incomes have a main income earner in a permanent, full-time job.
The findings dispel common assumptions that having a job, particularly a full-time job, is enough to protect a household from food insecurity, the insecure or inadequate access to food due to financial constraints.
The researchers first examined how food insecurity varied based on the type of employment held by the household’s main income earner. They found that households with a main earner involuntarily working part-time, defined as being unable to find a job providing more than 30 hours a week, faced the highest risk of food insecurity.
Almost half (45%) of working households with a main earner in an involuntary part-time job experienced food insecurity. However, this group represented only a small fraction of food insecure households relying on employment incomes.
While households with a main earner in permanent full-time work have lower risk of food insecurity than those with part-time employed main earners, these households represented 89% of all food-insecure working households. This overwhelming majority prompted the researchers to examine more closely what characteristics of permanent full-time jobs were associated with greater food insecurity.
Focusing on households with a main earner in permanent full-time employment, the research identified several critical factors that increased the risk of household food insecurity. These households were more likely to be food-insecure if the main earner had a lower quality or less stable job, as indicated by lower wage, lower skilled occupation, shorter tenure, and recent unemployment, even after controlling for other established predictors of food insecurity.
Permanent, full-time workers with longer tenures and higher skilled occupations may also have more non-wage compensation and better workplace benefits, like health insurance or paid family or sick leave, that help insulate their families from food insecurity.
Among workers in permanent full-time positions, job quality and stability matter for the food insecurity of the household.
Households with Black or Indigenous main earners in full-time, permanent jobs are at higher risk of food insecurity, even when compared to others with similar job characteristics. The findings likely reflect inequities and discrimination in the workplace but also the broader impact of systemic racism on households’ financial circumstances.
These findings have important implications for how Canada addresses food insecurity. Focusing primarily on addressing unemployment and underemployment may be insufficient if the available jobs don’t provide adequate income and stability. While it is clear that precarious work contributes to food insecurity, it is not where the bulk of the problem is situated.
The research suggests that policies aimed at reducing food insecurity need to address not just whether people are working, but the quality and stability of work available to them. This broader approach includes examining minimum wages, employment standards, job security protections, and available income support programs.
Making low-skilled jobs more stable and better paying is important for reducing food insecurity among working families. As some of these jobs disappear due to automation, offshoring, or turbulent trade relations, job training programs may also be critical for helping affected workers move into better employment opportunities.
The study also raises questions about existing support programs available to working Canadians and whether they do enough to support them. The Canada Workers Benefit, a federal tax credit designed to support low-income workers, has such a low income threshold that many permanent full-time main earners may not qualify and those who do receive modest benefits.
From an earlier PROOF study, Employment Insurance, while providing temporary assistance during unemployment, doesn’t fully offset the increased likelihood of food insecurity associated with job loss and could be more impactful if it were more generous.
The study is a step forward for understanding how employment relates to food insecurity in Canada. More research is needed to examine the role of other factors, like the industry of the work and employment circumstances of other household members, not just the main income earner, and how changes in the Canada’s labour market and economic have contributed to the rise in food insecurity over the past few years.
As food insecurity rates continue to climb across Canada, this research provides crucial evidence that addressing the crisis will require fundamental changes to how we think about work, wages, and economic security.
About the Research
The study analyzed data from 16,830 Canadian households whose main income source was employment and where the main earner was employed at the time of the survey from the 2021 Canadian Income Survey.
Food insecurity was measured using the validated 18-item Household Food Security Survey Module, which asks questions about experiences of insufficient or uncertain food access due to financial constraints over the past 12 months.
The research controlled for numerous workplace, job-related, and socio-demographic characteristics to identify independent predictors of household food insecurity.
This study was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Read the Full Study
The complete research paper is available in Canadian Public Policy:
Wei, M. F., St-Germain, A. A. F., Li, T., & Tarasuk, V. (2025). What Predicts Permanent Full-Time Job Holders Being Food Insecure?. Canadian Public Policy, 51(4), 443-459. https://doi.org/10.3138/cpp.2024-059
