A study confirms that the purchasing power of Quebecers has improved since 2019

The Chair in Taxation and of Public Finance Research at the University of Sherbrooke has just concluded that 11 out of 14 types of households have seen their purchasing power improve in recent years, despite the rapidly increasing inflation.

Single people, single-parent families and seniors aged 70 and over, among others, have benefited from the situation. Their disposable incomes, after taxes and inflation, have climbed between 1.1 percent and 3.3 percent since 2019, according to the study.

To do their analysis, the researchers compared the median incomes that will earn 14 types of households in 2023 - after the inflationary storm - to what they made in 2019, which was before the pandemic. Incomes were devalued by inflation, so they are comparable across the years.

Among the favourable elements that have offset inflation, there is of course the relatively significant increases in salary across Quebec. In 2023, Desjardins Group expects the increase to be around 4.1%, on average, after a 4.2% increase in 2022 and 2.9% in 2021.

According to Luc Godbout (member of the research team), there has been some exaggeration over the issue. "The effect of inflation may have been exacerbated by media coverage (vox pop, gas prices, etc.). In many cases, prompt measures have fully or significantly offset the rising cost of living," says Godbout.

 

Source article: https://www.lapresse.ca/affaires/chroniques/2022-12-22/surprise-votre-pouvoir-d-achat-augmente.php