Has wage setting changed in Canada? Evidence from the pre-pandemic 2020 Wage-Setting Survey Staff analytical note 2022-10 David Amirault, Sarah Miller, Matthieu Verstraete Just before the pandemic began, the Bank of Canada conducted the 2020 Wage-Setting Survey. The goal was to explore the unusual trend of subdued wage growth in 2018 and 2019 despite a tightening in the labour market. Although this wage puzzle was beginning to resolve at the time of the survey, results highlight changes in several factors that may have important impacts on wage dynamics. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Research Topic(s): Central bank research, Labour markets JEL Code(s): J, J3, J31, J32, J33, J6, J63 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply, Digitalization and productivity
Income Inequality in Canada Staff discussion paper 2022-16 Sarah Burkinshaw, Yaz Terajima, Carolyn A. Wilkins Data show that income inequality in Canada increased substantially during the 1980s and first half of the 1990s but has been relatively stable over the past 25 years. This increase was felt mainly by low-income earners and younger people, while older people benefited from higher retirement income. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Central bank research, Labour markets, Monetary and financial indicators JEL Code(s): D, D3, D31, D6, D63, I, I2, I24, I3, I32, J, J3, J31, J32, N, N3, N32 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply
Identifying Financially Remote First Nations Reserves Staff discussion paper 2022-11 Heng Chen, Walter Engert, Kim Huynh, Daneal O’Habib Chen et al. (2021) show that almost one-third of First Nations band offices in Canada are within 1 kilometre (km) of an automated banking machine (ABM) or financial institution (FI) branch and more than half are within 5 km. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Bank notes, Digital currencies and fintech, Financial institutions, Financial services, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E42, E5, G, G2, G21 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Cash and bank notes, Payment and financial market infrastructures, Retail payments, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply
Potential output and the neutral rate in Canada: 2022 reassessment Staff analytical note 2022-3 Guyllaume Faucher, Christopher Hajzler, Martin Kuncl, Dmitry Matveev, Youngmin Park, Temel Taskin We expect potential output growth to be lower in 2021 than anticipated in the April 2021 assessment. By 2025, growth is expected to reach 2.3%. We assess that the Canadian nominal neutral rate increased slightly to lie in the range of 2.00% to 3.00%. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Research Topic(s): Economic models, Interest rates, Labour markets, Monetary policy, Potential output, Productivity Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission, 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 Research Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Econometric and statistical methods, Labour markets, Monetary policy 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 Research Topic(s): Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Econometric and statistical methods, Labour markets 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
Contribution of Human Capital Accumulation to Canadian Economic Growth Staff discussion paper 2022-7 Audra Bowlus, Youngmin Park, Chris Robinson This paper quantifies the contribution of human capital accumulation to the growth of real gross domestic product (GDP) in Canada. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Labour markets, Potential output, Productivity JEL Code(s): D, D2, D24, E, E2, E24, J, J2, J24, J3, J31, O, O4, O47 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply, Digitalization and productivity
Job Ladder and Business Cycles Staff working paper 2022-14 Felipe Alves During downturns, workers get stuck in low-productivity jobs and wages remain stagnant. I build an heterogenous agent incomplete market model with a full job ladder that accounts for these facts. An adverse financial shock calibrated to the US Great Recession replicates the period’s slow recovery and missing disinflation. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Inflation and prices, Labour markets, Productivity JEL Code(s): D, D3, D31, D5, D52, E, E2, E21, E24, E3, E31, E32 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply
Job Applications and Labour Market Flows Staff working paper 2021-49 Serdar Birinci, Kurt See, Shu Lin Wee Although the number of job applications has risen, job-finding rates remain relatively unchanged while job-separation rates have significantly declined. Rather than raising the probability of finding a job, we find that a rise in applications raises the probability of finding a good match, as evidenced by the decline in separation rates. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Labour markets, Productivity JEL Code(s): E, E2, E24, J, J6, J63, J64 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply
Assessing Labour Market Slack for Monetary Policy Staff discussion paper 2021-15 Erik Ens, Laurence Savoie-Chabot, Kurt See, Shu Lin Wee Measuring labour market slack is essential for central banks: without full employment in the economy, inflation will not stay close to target. We propose a comprehensive approach to assessing labour market slack that reflects the complexity and diversity of the labour market. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Econometric and statistical methods, Labour markets, Monetary policy JEL Code(s): E, E2, E24, J, J2, J21, J6 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply