Household debt ratio falls in Q3, but service costs rise

Statistics Canada says the amount Canadians owe relative to their income edged lower in the third quarter, but the cost of servicing that debt relative to income climbed higher.

The agency says household credit market debt as a proportion of household disposable income fell to 181.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis in the third quarter, down from 181.9% in the second quarter.

In other words, it says Canadians owed $1.82 in credit market debt for every dollar of household disposable income in the third quarter.

The result came as household disposable income rose 1.0%, while credit market debt gained 0.8%.

Meanwhile, the household debt service ratio, measured as total obligated payments of principal and interest on credit market debt as a proportion of household disposable income, was 15.2% in the third quarter. That’s up from 15.1% in the second quarter as debt payments grew faster than income.

The cost of borrowing has risen since the Bank of Canada started raising interest rates in 2022 in an effort to bring inflation back to its target of 2%.

The Canadian Press

The Canadian Press is a national news agency headquartered in Toronto and founded in 1917.