Jock Finlayson
Export of services plays a strong and growing role in B.C. economy
As longtime students of the B.C. economy, we have been struck by the increasingly important role of service industries in driving business activity and employment growth. This trend is being...
Non-partisan commission needed to plan for B.C.’s recovery
A few weeks back, Business in Vancouver’s Kirk LaPointe penned a timely column calling on the provincial government to ramp up its focus on the economy. He argues that B.C. needs an economic...
Young workers top casualties in pandemic-related job market carnage
Statistics Canada recently reported that B.C. lost a stunning 132,000 jobs in a single month (March). In April losses doubled as a staggering additional 264,000 jobs disappeared. While the global...
COVID-19 recession scenarios for B.C.: one is bad; one is worse
By now it is clear the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic will be widespread and unusually painful. The shuttering of much of the provincial economy is unprecedented. The halting of...
Looming storm demands decisive action from Canadian leaders
For economic prognosticators, it’s been an eventful few weeks. The new year began with a modicum of optimism that the world economy would gain some traction after a sluggish 2019. A similar view was...
Film, construction help power growth as B.C. economy diversifies
In this column, we review industry growth patterns in B.C. during the period since the 2008-09 recession, focusing on industries that have grown most quickly, and on those that have made the biggest...
Jobs weakness points to need for new focus on business climate
With the release of Statistics Canada’s December Labour Force Survey, it is now possible to tabulate annual employment growth rates and other key labour market indicators. Based on annual averages...
2020 will be kind to B.C. housing market, technology sector
Last year the provincial economy downshifted to its slowest expansion since the 2009 recession. Fortunately, 2020 is looking a little brighter thanks to an upswing in non-residential construction....
Non-residential construction set to buttress B.C.’s economy
With mounting concerns about a slowing global economy and a worrying downshift in per capita growth across the advanced economies, the recent release of Statistics Canada’s Provincial and Territorial...
A close look at metrics reveals weakness in Canadian economy
With the federal election on the doorstep, now is a good time to look at where Canada stands in overall prosperity and assess how the pronouncements being made by the party leaders stand up against...