The online survey by the Canadian Payroll Association found that more than half of Manitobans (54 per cent) live paycheque-to-paycheque, and a third (32 per cent) said they would find it hard to come up with $2,000 in an emergency.
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“A significant percentage of working Canadians carry debt, have a gloomy view of their local economy and are fearful of rising interest rates, inflation, and costs of living”, Patrick Culhane, the CPA’s president and CEO said.
Ninety-four per cent of us carry some form of debt, but perhaps most disappointing is that one in ten don’t think they’ll ever be debt free. What’s more, 42 per cent of Albertans said they spend all of or more than their net pay (two per cent above the national average).
A quarter of those polled also said they wouldn’t be able to scrounge up $2,000 if an emergency situation happened within the next month.
“Survey data suggests that household income growth has stalled, as respondents reporting household income above $100K has hardly increased in five years”, s “In fact, real incomes have actually declined when inflation is taken into account”.
The 40-question survey was conducted online by Framework Partners between June 27 and August 5.
More than one-third (39%) of working Canadians said they feel overwhelmed by their level of debt, up from the three-year average of 36%. Mortgage (26%), credit cards (18%), vehicle loans (17%) and lines of credit (16%).
Stack points out 76 per cent say they’ve only saved about one-quarter or less of what they need.
Even with finances being at the forefront for many working Canadians, only 28 per cent of those polled said a higher salary is their top priority compared with 48 per cent who said they value a better work-life balance and healthy work environment more.
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The Canadian Payroll Association released its eighth annual survey Wednesday of 5,600 employed Canadians. “A lot of people are expecting to work longer because of debt, so they’re now looking at well into their 60s before they think they’re going to be ready to pack it in”.
