Following five consecutive years of growth, after-tax family income remained virtually unchanged between 2001 and 2002, Statistics Canada said today.

After-tax income for families of two people or more amounted to an estimated $60,500, virtually unchanged from $60,300 in 2001, after adjusting for inflation. This lack of growth was in contrast to the increase of 3.2% in annual average after-tax income for these families between 1996 and 2001.

Family income is correlated with economic conditions. After reaching a peak at $53,900 in 1989, average family income declined through the recession of the early 1990s and stayed below $52,000 up to and including 1996. Since then, it has rebounded in step with the recovering economy.

StatsCan said the three main components of after-tax income — market income, transfers from governments and personal income taxes — were all relatively unchanged from 2001.

Market income is the sum of paid employment and self-employment earnings, and income from investments and pensions, and represents the lion’s share of family income. In 2002, it remained at the same average level as in 2001 (approximately $66,000) for families of two or more people. This compares with an annual average gain of 2.7% during the previous five years.

Families of two or more people paid an estimated $12,800 on average in personal income taxes in 2002, about $300 less than in 2001 after adjusting for inflation. This decline, equal to about 2.3%, came on the heels of a 7.1% decrease in 2001 when federal and provincial tax changes included increases in exemption and income threshold levels, and cuts in tax rates. The implicit tax rate for families was 17.4% in 2002, down from 17.8% in 2001.