Canada’s consumer confidence saw its largest growth in March since the onset of COVID-19, new estimates from the country’s primary economic think tank suggest.
The consumer confidence index now sits at 87 per cent of its pre-pandemic levels, according to data from the Conference Board of Canada released Monday, which is a rise of roughly 14.1 points nationally and 12.1 points in the Manitoba-Saskatchewan region.
“As we head into spring, consumer confidence in Canada is on the rebound,” said Anna Feng, an economist with the board’s forecasting group in a statement. “People feel more confident about their current finances and future job prospects than at any time in more than six months. The positive sentiment should, hopefully, carry forward as we head into the second half of this year.”
More than 25 per cent of survey respondents believe there will be an increase in jobs within the coming six months, and consumers said they felt more satisfied with their finances in March than previous months.
Canadians also had the highest levels of confidence about making a major purchase in March compared to any time within the last year, at 24 per cent. Only 21.7 per cent of survey respondents expressed pessimism about their current finances.
The Conference Board believes these sentiments likely stem from recent improvements in the labour market and an extension of the Canada Recovery Benefit from 26 weeks to 38 weeks by the federal government.
“These improvements in consumer confidence should help support a recovery of consumer spending,” said Feng, suggesting lockdown measures being lifted and vaccines being rolled out also add significantly to optimism levels within individual Canadian provinces.
The Manitoba-Saskatchewan region is the only area in the country where the optimism level on the question of future employment has stalled. Consumers are more confident about their finances in the Prairies but are also more anxious about future job prospects.
Still, the advancement of sentiments on both current and future finances supported Manitoba consumers’ confidence about making major purchases.
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