New survey highlights Canadian households' current financial struggles
More than one in four (26%) Canadian households reported being unable to cover an unexpected expense of $500, with women (29%) finding this situation more difficult than men (24%), according to the latest “Canadian Social Survey on Quality of Life and Cost of Living” survey conducted by the national statistics agency.
Approximately 35% also said that their households encountered challenges when trying to meet their financial needs in the previous 10 months, Statistics Canada reported.
And while the majority of Canadians are still more worried about rising gasoline and food prices, nearly half of households (44%) admitted to being “very concerned” about their ability to afford housing or rent.
These fears have been spurred by the Bank of Canada’s unprecedented rate hike campaign that saw the benchmark rate spike from 0.25% to 4.5% in less than a year, as well as the largest increase in the consumer price index since 1982 (10.9%), StatCan said.
Which demographic is suffering the most financially?
The StatCan study found that young adults were bearing the greatest fears when it comes to finances, with 46% of those in the 35-44 age range encountering the greatest difficulty in meeting their financial needs in the past 12 months.
The next highest share was in the 45-54 age bracket (41%), while Canadians aged 65 years and older were the least likely to report difficulties (25%).
“This generational disparity was particularly noticeable over concern with housing prices,” StatCan said. “When asked if they were concerned about their ability to afford housing or rent, 58% of people aged 15 to 24 years reported being very concerned, followed by 56% of those aged 25 to 34 years. People aged 65 years and older (27%) reported the least concern.”
