Many British Columbians admit they’re barely making ends meet: survey

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – How’s your financial forecast for fall? We may be among the most optimistic workers in the country when it comes to the economy, but a new survey suggests many British Columbians are barely making ends meet.

The folks at the Canadian Payroll Association found that if your paycheque was delayed by even a week, you’d have trouble paying your bills. The survey discovered the majority of workers in BC are living paycheque to paycheque, while 53 per cent admitted they would be some financial trouble if their pay was delayed, that’s compared to 48 per cent nationally.

The report also finds more than one-quarter of people in BC say they probably couldn’t come up with $2,000 if an emergency arose within the next month, making employees in this province among the most cash-strapped in the nation. “In terms of saving for retirement, we’re finding 80 per cent of those in BC have saved less than a quarter of what they think they’ll need,” says Patti Jordan with the association.

And that’s no wonder when 49 per cent of employees in this province say they spend all or more than their net pay. “What we’re finding are incomes are flat, expenses are rising, people are concerned about inflation, mortgage rates, interest rates and they’re just having trouble making ends meet. But what we really promote is no matter what you earn, no matter what you choose to spend your money on, if you can just make the effort to put 10 per cent of your pay away, that’s really the first step to financial security.”

Over one-third of working Canadians feel overwhelmed by their level of debt, according to the survey, and there is an increase from the three year average of 36 per cent. Debt levels have risen over the past year for 31 per cent of respondents.

Despite that, the survey does reveal 43 per cent of us believe the economy will improve in the coming year.

Fraser Institute disagrees with findings

Despite what the association found in its latest survey, not everyone thinks things are getting dramatically worse for your average Canadian.

A new study from the right-leaning Fraser Institute finds that when it comes to our standard of living, the inequality gap hasn’t changed much over the last 40 years. Income inequality has increased by 11.5 per cent over that time, according to the agency.

However, it says consumption inequality paints the best picture of our actual economic well-being by more accurately measuring our standard of living, not just pure income. And when you look at the difference in spending by different households between 1969 and 2009, that number only went up by just under 3.5 per cent.

The Institute’s Economic Professor Christopher Sarlo says many people mistakenly believe the gap between our living standards is actually growing, which, he believes, isn’t the case.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today