Unemployment as a Risk Factor for Crime in Waterloo Region

Posted on: July 23rd, 2013 by Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council

Over the next ten weeks stay tuned here to the blog discussion on The Root Causes of Crime in Waterloo Region where community leaders, community residents and leading experts across Waterloo Region weigh in on the root causes of crime outlined in the report.


Unemployment Rates & the Relationship to Crime

The relationship between unemployment and property crime is well established in academic literature. Generally a 1% drop in unemployment rates leads to approximately a 1% drop in property crime. The impact on property crime rates is believed to be more pronounced when unemployment is high for male youth. Violent crime and unemployment on their own tend to be unrelated. However, when high levels of unemployment are combined with high levels of alcohol consumption it is believed to cause an increase in the homicide rate.

The Statistics

Graph: Unemployment Rates, 2006-2011

Graph: Youth Unemployment Rates, 2006-2011Source Data: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey: CANSIM Table 1095304 (Released Annually)

The Story Behind the Numbers

The 2011 decrease in unemployment in the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo CMA echoes a trend that was seen in the rest of Canada.The decrease in unemployment is directly related to a slowly rebounding economy.Youth unemployment improved in 2011 but not to the same degree as unemployment generally.High youth unemployment combined with a growing male population raises some concerns for the local crime rate.

Read the Community Responses

 

 

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