41 per cent worry about paying for basic necessities such as food, rent
COVID-19 is causing an economic crisis for many Canadian families, and nearly 30 per cent are reporting extreme stress, according to a survey.
In total, 74 per cent reported feeling some degree of stress brought on by the crisis. Over 40 per cent say their biggest financial worry is how to pay for basic necessities such as food and rent, found the survey of 16,000 people by financial technology firm Borrowell.
“We are facing a health and economic threat the likes of which we’ve never seen,” says Andrew Graham, co-founder and CEO of Borrowell. “People are worried about their jobs, worried about how they will pay bills this month. The survey is a sobering reminder of the precarious financial situation facing millions of families as the COVID-19 crisis deepens.”
Survey highlights included:
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30 per cent of respondents said they were “extremely stressed” to the point of losing sleep.
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Only six per cent of people are feeling financially secure.
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Paying for basic necessities (such as rent and groceries) tops the list as the biggest worry (41 per cent), followed by fears of increasing personal debt during this period (19 per cent).
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9 per cent say COVID-19 has already had an “extremely negative” impact on their finances.
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32 per cent of respondents have no plan in place if funds run too low to pay bills
Another survey, done by Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, highlighted a potential rise in criminal activity due to layoffs.
