J2 - Demand and Supply of Labor

• Benchmarks for assessing labour market health: 2024 update

  Staff analytical note 2024-8 Erik Ens, Alexander Lam, Kurt See, Gabriela Galassi

  We assess the health of the Canadian labour market. We find that it has seen gradual but material easing since 2023, amid some signs of structural changes.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E2, J, J2, J3, J6 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply

• Labour Supply and Firm Size

  Staff working paper 2023-47 Lin Shao, Faisal Sohail, Emircan Yurdagul

  This paper documents a systematic pattern of how wages, hours and their relationship vary across firms of different sizes. Using a model with heterogeneous firms and workers, we show how the interplay between wages, hours and firm size affect worker sorting and inequality.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E2, E24, J, J2, J3, J31 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply

• Digitalization: Labour Markets

  Staff discussion paper 2023-16 Alex Chernoff, Gabriela Galassi

  In this paper, the authors assess the relationship between digitalization and labour demand and supply, and how this relationship affects wages and income inequality. We also explore implications of recent digitalization trends for the future of work.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): I, I2, I23, J, J2, J23, J24, O, O3, O33 Research Theme(s): Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply, Digitalization and productivity

• Time Use and Macroeconomic Uncertainty

  Staff working paper 2023-29 Matteo Cacciatore, Stefano Gnocchi, Daniela Hauser

  We estimate the effects of economic uncertainty on time use and discuss its macroeconomic implications. We develop a model to demonstrate that substitution between market and non-market work provides an additional insurance margin to households, weakening precautionary savings and labour supply and lowering aggregate demand, ultimately amplifying the contractionary effects of uncertainty.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E2, E24, E3, E32, E5, E52, J, J2, J22 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Real economy and forecasting

• Benchmarks for assessing labour market health: 2023 update

  Staff analytical note 2023-7 Erik Ens, Kurt See, Corinne Luu

  We enhance benchmarks for assessing strength in the Canadian labour market. We find the labour market remains tight despite recent strong increases in labour supply, including among prime-working-age women. We also assess the anticipated easing in labour conditions in a context of high population growth.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E2, E24, J, J2, J21, J6 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply

• Fiscal Stimulus and Skill Accumulation over the Life Cycle

  Staff working paper 2023-9 Laure Simon

  Using micro data from the U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey and Current Population Survey, I document that government spending shocks affect individuals differently over the life cycle.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): D, D1, D12, D15, E, E2, E21, E6, E62, J, J1, J11, J2, J24 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply

• Are Working Hours Complements in Production?

  Staff working paper 2022-47 Lin Shao, Faisal Sohail, Emircan Yurdagul

  Using Canadian matched employer-employee data, we show that working hours of different workers are gross complements in production rather than perfect substitutes, as is typically assumed by macroeconomic models of production.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E2, E23, J, J2, J22, J23, J3, J31 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply

• Canada’s Beveridge curve and the outlook for the labour market

  Staff analytical note 2022-18 Alexander Lam

  Canada’s labour market is tight but beginning to ease. Unemployment will likely rise in turn, but the economy can avoid a recessionary surge given current conditions. Higher unemployment would nonetheless be material, especially for those directly impacted.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E3, E32, J, J2, J20, J6, J63, J64 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply

• Benchmarks for assessing labour market health

  Staff analytical note 2022-2 Erik Ens, Corinne Luu, Kurt See, Shu Lin Wee

  We propose a range of benchmarks for assessing labour market strength for monetary policy. This work builds on a previous framework that considers how diverse and segmented the labour market is. We apply these benchmarks to the Canadian labour market and find that it has more than recovered from the COVID-19 shock.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E2, E24, J, J2, J21, J6 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply

• What COVID-19 May Leave Behind: Technology-Related Job Postings in Canada

  Staff working paper 2022-17 Alejandra Bellatin, Gabriela Galassi

  COVID-19 affects technology adoption: online job postings for technology-related occupations fall less during pandemic lockdowns and pick up faster during reopenings than postings for more traditional occupations.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): J, J2, J23, J24, O, O1, O14 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply, Digitalization and productivity