AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
IND
Summary
- Canadians’ life satisfaction levels hit the lowest point during the pandemic between the 2003 to 2020 period.
- By June 2020, the average life satisfaction was at 6.71, down from 8.09 in 2018.
- Younger Canadians were more impacted by the pandemic than the older generation
That the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the economy, financial ecosystems and decimated jobs have been widely reported in media. But reports of its effect on Canadians emotional and mental health has been relatively muted.
Now, a recent released study released by Statistics Canada shows that Canadian’s life satisfaction was at lowest point during the pandemic months in almost seventeen years (for the period between 2003 to 2020).
By June 2020, the average life satisfaction was at 6.71, down from 8.09 in 2018, says the study released on Monday, December 21. Percentage of Canadians rating their life satisfaction at 8 or more plunged from 72 per cent in 2018 to 40 per cent by June 2020. Meanwhile, the share of people rating their life satisfaction at 6 or below shot up to 40 per cent amid pandemic, from 12 per cent in 2018.
Declining Life Satisfaction
Life satisfaction declined significantly among youth aged 15 to 29 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Just 26 per cent in June 2020 rated their life satisfaction as 8 or above, down 46-percentage-point from 72 per cent in 2018. In comparison, life satisfaction among people aged 30 to 59 slumped by 30-percentage-point and by 27-percentage-point among individuals aged 60 and above.
Average life satisfaction was lowest among younger individuals at 6.41 by June 2020. The highest life satisfaction was among individuals aged 60 and above at 6.93, followed by 30 to 59 age group at 6.72.
A high decline in life satisfaction was also observed among immigrants. By June 2020, overall life satisfaction among immigrants from Asia plunged to 6.18. In contrast, immigrants from the United States, Europe and Australia reported life satisfaction at 6.40 and Canadian-born were at 6.81.
Women and men reported similar life satisfaction before and during the pandemic.
Labor market experiences was a key contributing factor to life satisfaction levels during the pandemic.
