Financial stress among North Americans highest since 2008: Western-led study 

The study surveyed more than 4,200 workers across the United States and Canada to understand how different demographics are adapting to economic developments, such as inflation and rising interest rates. (Pexels/Karolina Grabowska) - Sixty per cent of employed North Americans are more stressed about their finances today than they were a year ago, and are experiencing the highest level of financial stress since the financial crisis of 2008, according to a new study from Canada's Financial Wellness Lab at Western. Conducted in partnership with human resources management software company Ceridian , the study surveyed more than 4,200 workers across the United States and Canada to understand how different demographics are adapting to economic developments, such as inflation and rising interest rates. Machine learning algorithms were used to group people's attitudes toward their personal finances into three clusters - stressed, unsettled and comfortable. The findings showed financial stress is being felt regardless of age, gender or wealth and across each of the Canadian provinces. Matt Davison, dean, faculty of science and principal investigator, Financial Wellness Lab (Mitch Zimmer) "Our results showed there are plenty of middle-aged Canadian households with high family incomes  in the 'stressed' cluster," said Matt Davison, dean of science and principal investigator at the Financial Wellness Lab of Canada. "It is tempting to believe all financial problems might be solved by a $10,000 pay raise, but our data shows that isn't true." The goal of Canada's Financial Wellness Lab is to apply finance and data analytics solutions to enable Canadian households to enhance their financial resilience.