Longitudinal Employment and Payroll Data Program (LEAP)

The LEAP program uses the T4 Supplementary Tax file from Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) as its employee universe since a T4 slip is provided to all employees in Canada for tax purposes. This employee universe is linked to the Business Register (BR) to obtain information about the employer including name, industry code, province of operation etc. Using the payroll information from the T4 and the linked information from the BR and Survey of Employment, Payroll and Hours (SEPH), average labour units (ALU) and annual average earnings (AAEs) are derived. The ALUs and AAEs produce the longitudinal employment and payroll. The LEAP database contains information on all employer based businesses in Canada. It contains variables such as employment, industry, province, payroll, firm size and counts.

The research potential of the LEAP is widespread. The LEAP allows research on:

• Employment dynamics: job creation and destruction
• Firm dynamics: business births and deaths
• The concentration of businesses, payroll and employment in Canada
• The importance of small business as an engine of growth
• Mobility of employment and firms
• Survival rates of firms

Period covered: 1983-2000.