To some extent this is a mechanical effect of the program - participants do not accumulate insurable weeks while working in their own business. However, among comparison group members who established a business, 30.3 percent had established a UI claim in the 12 months following their reference claim. SEA participants reported higher total weekly earnings from all sources after program participation than before they entered the program. Business survival rates can be expected to decline in the future. Job creation in SEA-sponsored businesses is similar to that of businesses started by comparison group members.
Local economies appear to benefit from SEA-sponsored businesses.
As a result, SEA begins to produce a positive return to society 6 to 10 months after program completion. However, when earned income was considered, their earnings were no different from non-equity groups and they were no more likely to collect UI after SEA completion. The amount of training received was not a significant predictor of business success, as measured by business survival, employment created and sales. The number of training hours varied significantly across the country from a low of 45 hours in Newfoundland to a high of 250 hours in Saskatchewan. A puzzling finding is that one-third of participants reported receiving no training at all, in spite of the inclusion of a mandatory training component.