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In the year and a half leading up to mid-2003, both employment and labour force participation increased at an unusually rapid pace compared to domestic economic activity. Gains in employment were unusually large, relative to output growth, compared to gains in total hours worked. This is explained by a faster rate of increase in the participation rate of the 55 and older age group, many of whom opted for part-time employment. This shift in the composition of employment contributed to a reduction in the length of the average workweek in 2002. As a result, labour input progressed at a rate that was markedly slower than for employment and more in line with its historical relationship to output growth. The authors anticipate that the 55 and older age group will continue to participate strongly in the labour force, but that as the economy rebounds and uncertainty diminishes, the cyclical component in the growth of part-time work should diminish and that of full-time employment increase. Employment growth should moderate in relation to output growth and there may be a cyclical rebound in labour productivity as total hours worked increases during the initial recovery in output growth.

This monthly newsletter features the latest research publications by Bank of Canada economists including external publications and working papers published on the Bank of Canada’s website.

In the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada’s financial institutions allowed households to defer payments on a range of loans. With nearly all of these deferrals having expired, we provide a final update of how these loans have performed through to July 2021.

Globalization - the trend towards greater economic integration around the world - has brought important benefits to us all. It has boosted world trade, opened up access to sources of global finance, and facilitated the diffusion of far-reaching technological advances in transportation, communications, and information processing.

This is an account of the deliberations of the Bank of Canada’s Governing Council leading to the monetary policy decision on October 23, 2024.

The Market Participants Survey results are based on questionnaire responses from about 28 financial market participants.

Canada is undertaking a major initiative to modernize its payments ecosystem. The modernized ecosystem is expected to bring significant benefits to Canadian financial markets and the overall economy. We develop an empirical framework to quantify the economic benefits of modernizing the payment system in Canada.

We draw on the Canadian experience to examine how monetary and macroprudential policies interact and possibly complement each other in achieving their respective price and financial stability objectives.

As announced in today's federal budget, in 2011 the Bank of Canada will begin to issue a new series of bank notes printed on a polymer material.

The best way to promote sustained economic growth is to stick to an economic policy framework that has proven its worth, Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge said today.