Do you feel like your bank balance isn’t as sufficient as it used to be? According to the latest data, it’s a familiar feeling across the country, as Canadians are making WAY less money than before.
Statistics Canada released its latest report on the income of families and individuals on Tuesday, and the findings are depressing.
The agency says the median family after-tax income of Canadians was $60,800 in 2022, up by 2.5% from 2021.
However, after adjusting for inflation at an annual rate of 6.8%, the 2022 median family after-tax income was actually 4% lower than in 2021.
Decreases in median income after adjusting for inflation were seen across all provinces and territories. The most significant declines were in Nunavut (-8.4%), the Northwest Territories (-7.2%) and Nova Scotia (-5.6%).
Statistics Canada
Who are the hardest hit, with less money coming in? Young people.
According to StatCan, among all families grouped by age, single-parent families in which the parent was younger than 25 recorded the largest decrease in median income, falling 15.1% from 2021 to $24,690 in 2022.
Canadians younger than 25 and not in a census family saw the next-largest decrease in median income, dropping 12.9% to $17,650 in 2022. That’s also the lowest in all family groups.
Couple families younger than 25 saw their median income decrease by 9% to $45,070 in 2022.
StatCan says the differences between younger and older families remain evident when looking at low-income rates.
It found that senior families were the only age group to show a drop in the number of people living in low-income households, falling to 14.8% in 2022.
In comparison, there was a spike in young families living with less money, with low-income rates climbing to 60.8% in 2022.
Bad news doesn’t stop there for young families.
The report also found that single-parent families with a parent younger than 25 were the only group to see their median family income fall in 2022 compared to 2019.
While the income of the younger-than-25 age group for all family units increased by $20,190 in 2022, up 5.3% from 2019, it was still well under half that of senior families, whose 2022 median income ($49,820) was unchanged from 2019.
With Canadians earning less money amid a cost of living crisis, it’s no wonder they’re going bankrupt at a staggering rate.