Canadian household debt compared to income rose to a record in the third quarter as the rate of borrowing outpaced growth in disposable income, data from Statistics Canada showed on Monday.
The latest set of figures likely reinforce concerns government and central bank officials harbor about the risk posed to the economy by high levels of consumer debt.
The ratio of household credit market debt to personal disposable income in the July-to-September period rose to 163.7% from a revised 162.7% in the previous quarter, Statistics Canada said Monday. That means households, on average, owed 1.64 Canadian dollars($1.19) for every dollar of after-tax income earned.
The country’s net worth in the third quarter declined 1.3% to C$9.49 trillion. Excluding natural resources, net worth rose 1.7% in the three-month period.
Statistics Canada said the data were revised dating back to the first quarter of 1990.
Agencies/Canadajournal