Nanos Research has been monitoring Canadians’ confidence in their finances since 2008 and it’s at an all-time low.
Only 10% of Canadians reported that their finances are better than a year ago, the lowest reported score since the company began keeping track. Conversely, over 50% of Canadians say their personal finances are worse off than the prior year, according to Nanos.
Regarding the upcoming year, 14.2% of Canadians think the economy will become stronger. 45.2% of Canadians feel it will weaken, while 32.8% said there will be no change.
Despite most Canadians admitting that they are in a worse financial position than last year, many still feel secure in their jobs.
46% of Canadians said that they feel secure in their job. 14.8% said they feel somewhat secure, while 4.8% said they feel somewhat not secure. 9.5% of Canadians said they feel not at all secure in their jobs.
True North previously reported that housing affordability in Canada reached an all-time low in April.
Despite this, the majority of Canadians, 50.2%, feel that in the next six months, real estate in their neighbourhood will continue to increase in price. In the next six months, 35.6% of Canadians feel that real estate pricing in their neighbourhood will stay the same, while 9.1% said that prices will decrease.
Nanos’ pocketbook index takes personal finances and job security into account. A score of 50 on this index signifies an equal distribution between net positive and net negative views. The pocketbook index fell to 50 last week, mirroring its April 2020 low.
This week, among Canadians aged 18 to 29, the economic mood fell to 46.34. The 12-month average for this age demographic is 54.11. The pocketbook index for Canadians aged 18 to 29 fell to 40, reaching an all-time low, according to BNN Bloomberg.
While Statistics Canada’s most recent data shows that unemployment across the country was 6.1%, the younger generations were hit much harder.
Canadians aged 15 to 24 have an unemployment rate of 12.6% in March 2024. Those aged 25 to 54 had an unemployment rate of 5.2%, and those aged 55 and over had an unemployment rate of only 4.5%
The economic mood improved for Canadians with higher incomes. Renters also have a negative economic mood, while homeowners have a positive economic mood.
Young Canadians aren’t feeling optimistic after the Liberals’ 2024 federal budget, which only 21% of Canadians support.
Nanos’ data is based on random interviews with 1,000 Canadians, using a four-week rolling average of 250 respondents each week.