HIGHER INCOME CANADIANS: WINNERS IN ROBUST CANADIAN ECONOMY

DESPITE WAGE INCREASES FOR 50% OF WORKING CANADIANS OVER THE PAST 2 - 3 YEARS, 45% SAY THEY HAVE LESS DISPOSABLE INCOME

ONLY 3-IN-10 (27%) REPORTING LOWER DEBT OVER SAME PERIOD, ONLY ONE QUARTER (25%) HAVE INCREASED AMOUNT SAVED OR INVESTED

This National Angus Reid Group/Globe and Mail poll is based on a Canada-wide telephone survey conducted between July 26th and July 30th, 1999 among a representative cross-section of 1,516 Canadian adults. These data are statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional, age and sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to 1996 Census data.

With a national sample of 1,516, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the overall results are within +2.5 percentage points of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger for other sub-groupings of the survey population.

In a robust economy where 50 percent of working Canadians are reporting wage or salary increases and only a quarter (27%) say they are worse off financially than they were two or three years ago, only 25 percent of Canadians say they have more disposable income. Furthermore, just 27 percent say they have a lower debt, and only one-quarter (25%) report increased savings or investments. Notably, Canadians in the higher income brackets and those with a higher level of education are much more likely to say that their personal debt load has decreased and their salary, disposable income, savings and investments have increased.

These are the highlights gleaned from the National Angus Reid Group/Globe and Mail telephone survey of 1516 Canadian adults. Interviews were conducted between July 26 and July 30, 1999. A sample size of 1516 is said to have a corresponding margin of error of +2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. HALF (50%) OF WORKING CANADIANS EARN HIGHER WAGE OR SALARY, 34% ARE ABOUT THE SAME - ONLY 16% LOWER

Half (50%) of working Canadians say they are earning a higher wage or salary than two or three years ago, and a third (34%) say they are making the same wage or salary. Only 16 percent report a lower wage or salary.

• Those with an annual household income under $30,000 (38%) are least likely to have an increased salary or wage than those in the $30,000-$59,000 (51%) and $60,000+ (56%) brackets.
• Employed university graduates (56%) are the most likely to have a higher wage or salary whereas Canadians who have not completed high school (40%) are the least likely.
• Employed residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba (55%) and Ontario (54%) are most likely to report salary or wage increases whereas those in British Columbia and Quebec (47%), Alberta (46%), and Atlantic Canadians (45%) are least likely.
• Employed 18-34 year-olds (66%) are much more likely to earn a higher wage or salary than 35-54 year-olds (43%) or those aged 55 or older (32%).

ALMOST HALF (45%) OF CANADIANS SAY THEY HAVE LESS DISPOSABLE INCOME THAN 2-3 YEARS AGO, 30% REPORT THE SAME - A QUARTER (25%) OF CANADIANS SAY THEY HAVE MORE

Almost half (45%) of Canadians have less disposable income than they did two or three years ago. Under one-third (30%) have about the same amount of disposable income, and just a quarter (25%) have more.

• Those with a household income less than $30,000 (53%) are more likely to have experienced a decline in their disposable income than those in the $30,000-$59,000 (43%) and $60,000+ (38%) income brackets.
• Canadians who have not obtained a secondary school diploma (51%) are more likely than university graduates (38%) to have less disposable income.
• British Columbians (60%) and Atlantic Canadians (57%) are the most likely to report a decrease in their disposable income whereas residents of Quebec (37%) are the least likely.

ONLY 27% REPORT A LOWER PERSONAL DEBT LOAD THAN 2 OR 3 YEARS AGO - 42% SAY THEY HAVE THE SAME DEBT LOAD AND 29% SAY THEY HAVE HIGHER PERSONAL DEBT

Only 27 percent of Canadians say they have reduced their personal debt over the last two or three years. Four-in-10 (42%) say they have the same personal debt as they had two or three years ago and 29 percent report a higher debt load.

• Those in the $60,000+ household income bracket (34%) are the most likely to report a decrease in their debt load as compared to those in the $30,000-$59,000 income bracket (27%) and those with a household income less than $30,000 (20%).
• Canadians who have not completed a high school education (54%) are the most likely to say they have the same personal debt as two or three years ago.
• Residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba (38%) are most likely to say they have a higher debt load whereas residents of Quebec are the least likely (23%).
• 18-34 year-olds (44%) are much more likely than 35-54 year-olds (26%) and those over the age of 54 (14%) to report an increase in their personal debt.

ONLY A QUARTER (25%) SAY THEY HAVE INCREASED THE AMOUNT THEY SAVE OR INVEST OVER THE LAST 2-3 YEARS - ONE THIRD (32%) SAY THEY ARE SAVING AND INVESTING LESS MONEY AND 41% REPORT SAVING AND INVESTING THE SAME AMOUNT

Only one-quarter (25%) of Canadians report saving and investing more than two or three years ago. Almost a third (32%) of Canadians say they have decreased the amount of money they save or invest and 41 percent say they are saving and investing about the same amount of money.

• Canadian households with higher incomes are more likely to have increased their savings and investments, as 37 percent of those in the $60,000+ income bracket, 25 percent of those in the $30,000-$59,000 bracket and just 15 percent of those earning less than $30,000 did so.
• University graduates (30%) are more likely than those without a high school diploma (18%) to have increased their savings or investments.
• Ontarians (29%) are the most likely to have increased their savings and investments whereas Atlantic Canadians (50%) are the most likely to have maintained the same levels of saving and investment and British Columbians (43%) are the most likely to have decreased the amount of money they save or invest.
• Increased savings and investment is more common among younger Canadians, as 37% of 18-34 year-olds, 25% of 35-54 year-olds, and just 11% of those aged 55 and older have more money saved or invested.

ONLY A QUARTER (27%) OF CANADIANS SAY THEY ARE IN A WORSE FINANCIAL SITUATION THAN 2 OR 3 YEARS AGO - ALMOST A THIRD (32%) OF CANADIANS SAY THEY ARE IN A FINANCIALLY BETTER POSITION AND FOUR-IN-TEN (41%) SAY THEIR SITUATION IS THE SAME

Only a quarter (27%) of Canadians say that their financial situation is worse than it was two or three years ago. Almost a third (32%) of Canadians say they are in a better financial situation and four-in-10 (41%) say they are in about the same financial position.

• Households with higher annual incomes are more likely to report a better financial situation, as 46 percent of those with a household income of $60,000 or more, 31 percent of those in the $30,000-$59,000 income bracket, and just 19 percent of those with a household income of less than $30,000 are more likely to say there is an improvement over two or three years ago.
• Canadians with some post-secondary education (36%) or a university degree (38%) are more likely to report a better financial situation than those who only hold a high school degree (27%) or have not completed high school (18%).
• Residents of Alberta (38%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (36%), and Ontario (34%) are most likely to report an improved financial situation whereas Canadians residing in Quebec (31%), British Columbia (29%), and the Atlantic provinces (21%) are the least likely to report an improved financial position.
• Improved personal financial conditions are more likely to be reported by younger Canadians, as 48 percent of 18-34 year-olds. 30 percent of 35-54 year-olds, and just 17 percent of those 55 and older report an improvement.

For further information contact:

John Wright
Senior Vice President
Angus Reid Group
(416) 324-2900

The Angus Reid Group is Canada's largest and most well-known Canadian research company. Established in 1979 by Dr. Angus Reid, the company serves 1200 clients via its six offices in Canada, four offices in the United States and its European office in London, England. With a complement of 250 full time qualitative and quantitative researchers, the company has annual revenues of $65 million and is growing at an average rate of 30 percent per year. The employee-owned company also operates its own field service entity, Direct Reid, utilizing 450 CATI (computer-assisted telephone interviewing) stations for North American calling and a 50,000 household consumer panel in Canada.