We are less than a week away from Christmas, but British Columbians are feeling apprehensive about opening up their wallets in what is normally the busiest shopping season of the year.
The Conference Board of Canada’s consumer confidence index for B.C. slipped 7.3 points from November to 123.2 this month, according to data released December 19.
“B.C. shed a significant number of full-time jobs last month, which probably led to more survey respondents reporting worsening household financial conditions in December,” the board said in a news release.
Despite the decline, B.C. remains more optimistic that the rest of the country, although the Canadian average increased 1.1 points to 103.8. The board said this uptick related to increased optimism about household finances and employment prospects.
“Despite the underwhelming pace of full-time job creation seen of late, Canadians appear to be holding out hope for greater opportunities in the new year, and this bodes well for spending entering the holiday season,” said Conference Board associate director Matthew Stewart.
Many respondents said they expect their own financial situations to improve over the next six months. On the other hand, the percentage of those who said they felt now was a good time to make a large purchase fell.
“Canadians remain apprehensive about buying home and cars amidst the precarious job creation and weak economic growth seen in 2016,” the Conference Board said.
Alberta saw the country’s biggest jump with a gain of 5.8 points, bringing that province’s consumer confidence to a 19-month high. Albertans are feeling more positive about employment prospects and overall economic conditions, as the oil and gas sector has experienced some positive momentum. However, the consumer confidence index for Alberta is still 35 points below where it was two years ago.
