Latest economic trends at a glance
| Economic growth: | Canada’s economy is expected to expand by 2.2 per cent this year and by 1.6 per cent in 2019 following unexpectedly strong growth of 3.0 per cent last year. |
| Jobs: | The number of jobs in Canada is expected to increase by 1.3 per cent this year, faster than population growth, driving the jobless rate down to an average of 6 per cent this year and next. |
| Wages: | Average base wage increases in major collective agreements settled in 2017 averaged 1.7 per cent, just slightly above the inflation rate in 2017, but lower than the rise in prices anticipated over the average three-year duration of these agreements. |
| Inflation: | Consumer price inflation is expected to average 1.9 per cent this year and 2.0 per cent next year, following a rise of 1.6 per cent last year. |
| Interest rates: | The Bank of Canada has already hiked its key lending rate three times in the past year, bringing it to 1.25 per cent from 0.5 per cent last summer. The bank is expected to hike its lending rate by another full percentage point over the next year. This will bring longer-term mortgage rates up by a bit more than half a percentage point. |