Question Period Notes
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• Real GDP at basic prices surged 1.1% in February, following a 0.2% increase in January.
• Real GDP growth in February was above market expectations of a 0.8% increase (Bloomberg survey).
• Nominal sales of manufactured goods rebounded 4.3% in October, following a 2.8% decrease in September. This increase was in line with market expectations of 4.1% growth.
• In real (i.e., inflation-adjusted) terms, manufacturing sales grew 3.1%, following a 4.1% decrease in September.
• Employment jumped by 154,000 in November, well above expectations of a 37,500 gain.
• The unemployment rate fell sharply by 0.7 percentage points to 6.0% in November. The labour force participation was 65.3% in November, unchanged from October.
"• Employment decreased by 68,000 in May, below market expectations of a 20,000 decline. Employment is now 571,000 jobs (-3.0%) short of its pre-pandemic level.
• The unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 8.2%, in line with market expectations, while the labour force participation rate fell 0.3 percentage points to 64.6%.
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• Today, the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) released his March 2021 Pre-Budget Outlook.
• Today, the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) released his assessment of Budget 2021 and issues for parliamentarians.
• Employment rose by 62,000 jobs in November, meaning that about 2.4 million of the 3 million jobs lost at the peak of the pandemic (i.e. about 81 per cent) have now been recouped.
• The unemployment rate fell 0.4 percentage points to 8.5% in November, while the labour force participation rate ticked down to 65.1%, from 65.2% in October.
• Employment gains were well above market expectations of a 20,000 increase, and the unemployment rate was better than market expectations of 9.0%.
• The Bank of Canada released its Monetary Policy Report (MPR) today, providing an updated view on the global and Canadian economies.
• Overall, the recoveries are proceeding largely as envisioned in July, with global and Canadian growth paths shifting to markedly slower paces after initial rebounds when containment measures were lifted.
• The recoveries are partial and advancing in highly uneven ways, however. This is expected to keep both global and Canadian inflation pressures in check.