Recent trade discussions between Canada and the U.S. (that seemed to go on forever!) have led to many questions about the economic forecast for both countries. However, according to the Daily Commercial News, the world economic outlook is relatively bright, which will have a positive impact on the Canadian and American economies.
As of this summer, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Monetary Fund expected global growth to be between 3.7 per cent and 3.9 per cent in 2019. Along with this growth, the OECD expects the unemployment rate of its member nations will fall to 5.1 per cent in 2019, which is the lowest it’s been in 39 years.
The U.S. economy is also considered to be performing well. The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book released at the end of May reported that economic activity had improved across the 12 Federal Reserve districts. Due to a sustained increase in establishment employment, the unemployment rate dropped to 3.7 per cent.
Moving north, the Bank of Canada estimated that the Canadian economy will grow two per cent over the next 12 to 18 months. Its Business Outlook Survey (BOS) also reported that sales outlooks remain robust, despite expectations of a moderate in the pace of sales growth. Canada’s unemployment rate has also steadily declined and there has been evidence of increased capacity utilization.
Check out this article by John Clinkard in the Daily Commercial News for more details.