Job security is the number one concern for 2009 among Canadians (32%), followed by stock market performance (19%) according to a new poll commissioned by Edward Jones.

The cost of healthcare and saving for retirement were neck-and-neck at 15% and 14% respectively to round out the list, with 25% of people over 50 identifying healthcare costs.

“It is not surprising the economic news is fueling job worries, but Canadians are worried almost as much as their American neighbours,” says Michelle Kay-Scott, senior retirement planning specialist for Edward Jones in Mississauga, Ont.

The findings mirror fears in the same Edward Jones poll in the United States, where job security ranked as the number one financial concern at 38%, followed by stock market performance at 23%. Cost of healthcare was the top concern of 20% of Americans, while saving for retirement was the number one concern of just 12%.

The survey found that Canadian women are more concerned with the cost of healthcare than men (18%, 12% respectively).

A quarter of all Canadians 50-plus rank healthcare concerns as their number one concern in 2009.

Among younger Canadians job security is the most pressing concern. Half of Canadians age 25-34 rank job security as their number one concern in 2009.

Overall, Albertans (38%) are the most concerned about job security compared to the rest of Canada with residents of Quebec and Ontario a close second (35%, 34% respectively).

Older Canadians, 50-plus, are the group most concerned with stock market performance, almost a quarter (24%) say this is their number one concern, national average is 19%

The Canadian survey results are based on an online survey of 1,020 nationally representative adults between February 12 and February 16, 2008 by Harris/Decima. A sample of this size will provide results that can be considered accurate within plus or minus 3.1%, 19 times out of 20.

IE