BOC’s Macklem: We’re not expecting unemployment rate to trend higher

Forex Short News

We last heard from Macklem in the BOC decision last Wednesday.

Here are his latest comments:

  • Restructuring of the Canadian economy and pick-up in productivity will take years

  • Transition to new economy could be more painful than we’d like

  • Canada needs to lean into structural change to avoid worst-case scenario

  • It is hard to differentiate structural change from cyclical fluctuations; we must be careful not to misdiagnose economic weakness

  • Bank of Canada is not expecting unemployment rate to trend higher, given how little growth there is in the labor force

  • Lowering rates in face of weak economy could stoke inflation if the weakness is due to lower productive capacity rather than a cyclical downturn in demand

  • We should see some gradual improvement in labor market in the period ending 2027

  • Rise of AI has potential to put economy on higher path and raise standard of living; so far there is little evidence AI is improving productivity

He paints a tough picture but includes an optimistic note on unemployment given changes in immigration.

This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.