One more interest rate hike expected: Challenging economic times ahead in 2023
Just about everyone notices.
Groceries are more, and so is the interest on any debt.
Just about everything has gone up except wages.
"Over these last 12 months or so, when inflation went up, the average wage rate did not catch up with inflation," said Anupam Das, economist and professor at Mount Royal University.
"So people have been losing their real income for a while now."
According to a report released by TD Bank last month, Albertans' real wages have been falling at about a five per cent pace over the past year as the cost of food and fuel have inflated quickly.
In an effort to curb inflation, the Bank of Canada has hiked rates seven times since last March.
Its next scheduled interest rate announcement is Jan. 25.
While inflation is showing signs of coming back to healthier levels, many money watchers are expecting one more increase of .25 per cent.
Rate increases are used to slow the economy and bring prices under control, but they come with the risk of hitting the brakes a little too hard and triggering a recession.
"In the next 12 months, it's possible that the economy will slow down to an extent that people will actually start losing jobs," said Das, though he was careful not to say a recession is guaranteed at this point.
The TD Bank report also forecast Alberta's GDP growth would slow to 1.9 per cent for 2023 – less than half the 5.1 per cent reported in 2022.
It's significant, but analysts believe the province will still be one of the growth leaders in the country.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Chants of 'shame on you' greet guests arriving for the annual White House correspondents' dinner
An election-year roast of U.S. President Joe Biden before journalists, celebrities and politicians at the annual White House correspondents' dinner Saturday.
What is a 'halal mortgage'? Does it make housing more accessible?
The 2024 federal budget announced on April 16 included plans to introduce “halal mortgages” as a way to increase access to home ownership.
Here's where Canadians are living abroad: report
A recent report sheds light on Canadians living abroad--estimated at around four million people in 2016—and the public policies that impact them.
Deadly six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 sparked by road rage incident
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Harvey Weinstein hospitalized after return to New York from upstate prison
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said Saturday that the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a battery of tests after his return to New York City following an appeals court ruling nullifying his 2020 rape conviction.
'We are declaring our readiness': No decision made yet as Poland declares it's ready to host nuclear weapons
Polish President Andrzej Duda says while no decision has been made around whether Poland will host nuclear weapons as part of an expansion of the NATO alliance’s nuclear sharing program, his country is willing and prepared to do so.
Central Alberta queer groups react to request from Red Deer-South to reinstate Jennifer Johnson to UCP caucus
A number of LGBQT+2s groups in Central Alberta are pushing back against a request from the Red Deer South UCP constituency to reinstate MLA Jennifer Johnson into the UCP caucus.