The Canadian Payroll Association said half of B.C. employees are living paycheque to paycheque. File photo.
B.C. workers continue to struggle financially, according to a new poll from the Canadian Payroll Association.
According to the Canadian Payroll Association’s tenth annual survey, half of B.C. workers surveyed are living paycheque to paycheque and a quarter of them couldn’t come up with $2,000 within a month for an emergency expense. The situation across Canada is only slightly better, with 44 per cent of Canadian workers reporting it would be difficult to meet their financial obligations if their paycheque was delayed by even a single week.
The Canadian Payroll Association (CPA) said people in B.C. “continue to have high debt levels, chronically undersave for retirement, and put themselves at severe risk in the event of economic changes.”
The survey found out of all the B.C. workers surveyed, 69 per cent said they save 10 per cent or less than their earnings. Thirty-eight per cent of B.C. employees report increases in the amount of debt and 93 per cent of B.C. respondents carry debt, with the most common being mortgages at 28 per cent. This is followed by 19 per cent of B.C. employees having credit card debt and 17 per cent having car loans.
“Nationally, mortgage debt on principal residences remains the most difficult debt to pay down, with 30 per cent (34 per cent in BC) of respondents selecting this option, followed by credit card debt (25 per cent nationally and 24 per cent in B.C.),” the CPA said in a release.
The Canadian Payroll Association said half of B.C. employees are living paycheque to paycheque. File photo.
A total of 5,074 employees from across Canada and different sectors responded to the survey between June 22 and Aug. 1. The survey was developed by the Canadian Payroll Association and conducted by Framework Partners. Surveys of that size have a margin of error plus or minus 1.38 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
CHEK News
