[SONDAGE] Personal finances of Quebecers: one in two families has a sword of Damocles hanging over their heads

Without a financial cushion to deal with unforeseen events, one in two families now fear running out of money to put bread on the table, according to a new Léger survey.

The survey confirms that financial anxiety is gaining ground in Quebec, with 41% of respondents saying they are afraid of lacking the resources to pay for their current expenses.

This proportion is also higher within the working population, and in particular among those under 55 (50%) and among parents (51%). For comparison, “only” 37% of adults without children share this concern.

“This is the effect of the inflation crisis, which widens the gap between those who are getting by and those who are not,” comments the executive vice-president of Léger, Christian Bourque, emphasizing that fear Lack of money is more common among “less established people” or those who have more financial obligations.

No cushion

In many cases, this fear of running out comes from an inability to put money aside.

In fact, a little more than a third of respondents indicated that they lived from paycheck to paycheck (36%), and did not have $5,000 aside to deal with unforeseen events.

“It hasn’t changed, it’s pretty much in those waters every time we measure it,” notes Mr. Bourque, before adding that again, “it’s the difference between the older and younger which is interesting”.

In fact, half of those aged 35-54 (48%) wait for their paycheck every two weeks to be able to pay their accounts, compared to only 27% of those aged 55 and over. Older people are also more likely to benefit from a safety cushion (69% compared to 48%).

One job is no longer enough

In this context, the difficulty of making ends meet has pushed more than one in ten Quebecers (12%) to take a second job in order to meet their needs.

“It’s a significant proportion,” breathes Christian Bourque, noting that the strength of the job market in the province, where the unemployment rate has remained below 5% for several months, is also to blame. .

In this regard, the survey shows that less than one in five people (19%) fear losing their job. “Young people (27%) are those who are the most worried, the results are quite low in other age groups,” notes the pollster.

Methodology

A web survey was conducted among 1,026 Quebecers aged 18 or over between April 19 and 21, 2024. Respondents were recruited randomly using Leo’s online panel. It is not possible to calculate a margin of error on a sample drawn from a panel, but for comparison, the maximum margin of error for a sample of 1026 respondents is + or – 3.06% and this 19 times out of 20.