Statistics Canada says the amount Canadian households owe relative to their income fell in the third quarter as a rise in disposable income outpaced the growth in debt.
It was the sixth consecutive quarter that the measure declined.
The agency says the ratio of household credit market debt as a proportion of household disposable income in the third quarter fell to 173.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, down from 175.3 percent in the second quarter.
In other words, Statistics Canada says there was $1.73 in credit market debt for every dollar of household disposable income.
The move came as 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—fell to 14.72 percent in the third quarter compared with 14.98 percent in the second quarter.
Debt payments rose 0.2 percent as disposable income gained two percent.
