Canadians remain wary about the economy’s future, although they are less pessimistic than in 2011’s third quarter, according to the Nanos Economic Mood Index.
The index remained stable in 2011’s fourth quarter, while the Expectations Index – a six month outlook – registered a slight gain.
Nik Nanos, president and founder of Nanos Research, said via his blog: “Cautious yet not as negative would be the key hallmarks of opinion related to the economy.”
Fewer Canadians – 31.3% in the fourth quarter – thought the Canadian economy would get weaker in the next six months, compared with 38.9% in 2011’s third quarter.
Of those surveyed, 18.9% – a gain of almost three percentage points from the previous quarter – thought the economy would strengthen in the next six months.
Nearly one in two surveyed (45.3%) thought there would be no change in the economy.
When polled about real estate values in their neighbourhood, 36.3% said they expected to see increases, 47.5% indicated they thought it would stay the same and 12.1% predicted decreases.
In regards to personal finance, 17.4% of respondents said they were better off over the past year, down 4% from the previous quarter.
Twenty-eight per cent said they were worse off, up 1.5% on the previous quarter.
The majority of those polled – 53.9% – indicated there had been no change in their personal finances over the past year.
Jennifer Harrison
@JHarrisonBIV