Canadians are worried about their livelihood as job market weakens

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Younger Canadians continue to be the most worried about their job security, but there was a significant jump in the number of older people who also fear for their livelihood as weakness in the employment market grows, according to an ongoing financial outlook survey.

One-third of people aged 18 to 34 fear they will be laid off or lose their job, the June survey of Maru Public Opinion’s Household Outlook Index said. That was a three-percentage-point drop from the previous month’s survey, but higher than in March, when only one-quarter feared for their job prospects.

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Meanwhile, the number of people aged 35 to 54 worried about being laid off rose five percentage points to 15 per cent, the survey said.

Canada’s labour market has radically changed from the days following the pandemic when employers struggled to find workers. Job vacancies, once at record highs, have fallen back to levels recorded prior to the pandemic, according to Statistics Canada data, while the unemployment rate rose to 6.4 per cent in June. The number of people who have been unemployed for an extended period of time jumped about four percentage points from a year ago.

The Bank of Canada’s most recent Business Outlook Survey said employers are pulling back on hiring, with 40 per cent not planning to add any workers. And the central bank’s Canadian Survey of Consumer Expectations showed that 50 per cent of people are finding it harder to land a job in their field, up from 38 per cent in the previous survey.

But that doesn’t mean Canadians can expect widespread layoffs to occur. Economists have attributed the shifting employment market to record immigration levels that have swelled the workforce by approximately one million people.

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“That creates a different kind of anxiety. You can be replaced pretty easily,” John Wright, executive vice-president of Maru Public Opinion, said.

Perhaps reflecting a more tenuous employment outlook, 42 per cent of gen-Zers — those aged 18 to 27 — said they would be moving to a smaller residence soon because they needed to save money and almost half indicated they needed government assistance to “make ends meet.”

Despite their worries regarding job stability, younger Canadians were able to muster more optimism about the national and local economies compared with those aged 35 to 54.

For example, 41 per cent of the 18-to-34 group said they believed their local economy would improve over the next 60 days, compared with 34 per cent of the 35-to-54 group. Nationally, 43 per cent of the younger group were optimistic about the outlook, while 32 per cent of older Canadians said they believe the economy will improve.

Younger people also bolstered the Household Outlook Index, according to Maru, keeping it from falling deeper into negative territory.

The index registered 86, up one point from the last reading. Anything below 100 on the index — which measures Canadians’ outlook on the economy and their personal finances — indicates negative sentiment, and anything above 100 indicates optimism. The index has been stuck in the red since December 2021 and hit its most pessimistic reading — 83 — in March 2023.

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“Digging deeper, it becomes apparent that it’s primarily a slice of the gen Z (aged 18 to 27) population who are the mighty ones lifting the index up on their shoulders,” Wright said in a press release.

A rising number in that group reported an improved financial position, while close to half said they would consider purchasing big-ticket items such as a car or furniture in the coming months.

“This group is tied into the new economy and living a great life,” Wright said. “They are optimists. We found them in the States and Europe. For groups of gen Z; they are into AI, they are entrepreneurs. A slice of them is very different from the rest of the world.”

Maru conducted the survey with a random selection of 1,518 Canadian adults between June 28 and July 1.

• Email: gmvsuhanic@postmedia.com

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