Working poverty is pervasive, racialized, and until the pandemic, was increasing in Toronto and across Canada. Until the pandemic, this increase was counterintuitive, during 2006 to 2016, as most of this ten-year period had been characterized by one of the most prolonged economic recoveries in recent memory.
During the pandemic, working poverty in the Toronto region dropped by over 50% (53%). Pandemic benefits took workers out of poverty at the same time as many of their jobs simply disappeared.
Before the pandemic, the single largest group of people living in poverty were working. The pandemic changed all that with the single largest group of the poor being those on what is known as income or social assistance.

This article sums up the findings from this research. 

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