The Conference Board of Canada - AERIC Inc.

08/30/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 08/30/2024 07:22

Index of Consumer Confidence Drops in August

  • Compared to July, consumers seem more pessimistic regarding their current finances. The share of Canadians who think that their present financial situation has worsened increased by 3 percentage points this month, to 31.9 per cent. Meanwhile, the share of consumers who think that their current finances have gotten better increased by 0.7 percentage points to reach 12.3 per cent, the highest share since last August.
  • The result was similar for the future finances indicator. The share of Canadians who think that their future financial situation will get worse jumped 1.3 percentage points in August to 9.4 per cent, while the share of those who believe that their financial situation would be better has slightly increased (+0.3 percentage points) to reach 17 per cent.
  • Canadians reported a higher financial stress in August as result of still elevated interest rates and the higher cost of living. Consequently, consumers are quite meticulous when it comes to spending, especially in major purchases. In fact, the share of Canadians who believe it's a good time to make a major purchase fell by 0.4 percentage points to 12.5 per cent.
  • Despite having a negative outlook about their financial situation, respondents were quite positive regarding job market prospects. The share of Canadians who believe there would be more jobs in the upcoming six months jumped to 8.5 per cent, an increase of 0.9 percentage points compared to July.