What’s Next at the RBNZ Meeting?

All Canadians are affected by COVID-19, but workers in some industries have fared much worse than others. The biggest job losses have been in service industries where physical distancing is hardest, such as accommodation, food services, arts, entertainment and recreation. And the workers in those industries—mostly women and youth—tend to be low-income earners. The second wave of the virus further hurt women and youth. Both groups have seen their share of the long-term unemployed—people out of work for at least 26 weeks—rise more quickly than others have. As more people are vaccinated and normal life returns, the Canadian economy will strengthen. But a complete recovery in the labour market will take a long time. A complete recovery is a shared recovery—shared by working women and men of all ages across Canada."Canada’s labour market: rebound, recuperation and restructuring I’m very pleased for the opportunity to speak to you today—thank you for the invitation. As much as we are all getting used to these virtual events, I would greatly prefer to be with you in person to hear your perspectives and concerns directly. Your input is important to the Bank of Canada. We need to know what’s happening on the ground in Alberta and across the country. Fortunately, the Bank has a strong presence in the province. Two years ago, we opened our financial operations centre in downtown Calgary, which now employs close to 90 people. And since 1997, we have had staff in our regional offices who are eager to listen to local business leaders like you. Over the past year, this has become more critical than ever. COVID-19 has touched every Canadian in every corner of the country. The pandemic is, first and foremost, a human tragedy, taking the lives of more than 20,000 Canadians, and it’s not over. It has also led to an economic downturn unlike anything we’ve ever seen. Albertans have been especially hard hit, facing the double blow of lockdowns and low oil prices. We have already climbed a long way back from th tweet at 12:31pm: BoC's Gov. Macklem: It will be some time before Canada sees a complete economic recovery; we are not returning to the same economy we had before the pandemic.