Canadians gain confidence in economy: Nanos poll

More Canadians believe the economy will get stronger in 2012, according to a Nanos survey.

The survey found that consumer confidence is steady and pessimism in terms of the first six months of 2012 is not as strong as the previous quarter. Cautious yet not as negative would be the hallmarks of opinion related to the economy, according to the Nanos Expectations Index.

Nanos Research conducted the random survey of 1,201 Canadians 18 years of age or older. Results show that 31.8 per cent of those polled in the fourth-quarter believed the economy would get weaker, down from 38.9 per cent in the third-quarter of 2011.

There was a slight gain of 2.9 per cent for a total of 18.9 per cent of respondents who believe the economy will get stronger in 2012. The majority, at 45.3 per cent, believe there will be no change, while 4.4 per cent said they were unsure.

Nanos Research also posed the question of whether respondents believe the value of real estate in their neighbourhood will increase. The majority, at 47.5 per cent, believe it will remain the same, while 36.3 per cent, up 4.6 per cent from the previous quarter, believe it will increase. Only 12.1 per cent believe it will decrease, while 4.1 per cent were unsure.

Fewer people (17.4 per cent, down four per cent from the third-quarter) believed they are better off in terms of personal finances, while 53.9 per cent (down 3.9 per cent) believe there will be no changes in their personal finances. The number of people who believe they were worse off by the end of year increased by 1.5 per cent, to a total of 28.2 per cent, while 0.6 per cent of respondents were unsure.

An increase of 3.9 per cent to 33.7 per cent was noted in the number of respondents who believe their personal debt loads will decrease in the next six months, while 17.7 per cent of respondents believe their debt load will increase. Forty-four per cent believe it will stay the same.

Fifty-two per cent of respondents said they believe their job is secure, while 11.6 per cent said their job isn't secure at all. Beliefs about jobs being somewhat secure and somewhat not secure were 17.8 per cent and 3.8 per cent respectively.

Posted by Arron Pickard