The Canadian Economic Month at a Glance: August 2017

There has been a mixed bag of signals from the economic data this month. While GDP has been growing at some of the fastest rates since 2000—growth in the year to May was 4.6 per cent—employment gains are just neutral, with only 11,000 jobs added in July. The unemployment rate fell to 6.3 per cent, the lowest level since 2008. Merchandise exports fell 4.3 per cent in June, alongside a 10 per cent drop in energy exports. Despite June’s report, the year-over-year growth in merchandise exports came in at a respectable 12.4 per cent. The positive signs enabled the Bank of Canada to raise interest rates in July, up 0.25 percentage points. Economists will be watching closely to gauge the impact of the higher rates on highly indebted Canadian consumers.