Slowly, then all at once…job losses ‘unexpectedly’ leaping across many sectors.
Andy Challenger, Senior Vice President, Challenger, Gray & Christmas, shares his insights on the latest Challenger layoff report in the U.S. and what sectors were most impacted. Here is a direct video link.
Yesterday, the Bank of Canada (BoC) held its overnight rate target at 2.75%, with the Bank Rate at 3% and the deposit rate at 2.70%. They did not ease monetary conditions while noting that domestic demand remained flat and the labour market had weakened. The unemployment rate–at 6.9% in April–is expected to rise into 2026.
Headline inflation eased to 1.7% in April, primarily due to the elimination of the federal consumer carbon tax. The BoC emphasized that the high level of uncertainty surrounding U.S. trade policies, particularly recent tariff increases on Canadian steel and aluminum, poses significant risks to the Canadian economy, affecting exports, business investment, and consumer spending. Further reducing the competitiveness of Canadian exports, the loonie has appreciated 5.8% against the US dollar since January 31st.
The BoC’s next scheduled interest rate announcement is on July 30, 2025, which will coincide with the release of its Monetary Policy Report. In the meantime, credit conditions are deteriorating and financial stress is on the rise. The discussion below offers insight.
Hoyes Michalos is the top Consumer Insolvency Firm in Ontario. Insolvency Trustee Scott Terrio is a return guest with extremely timely updates on insolvency trends. Truly awful Trends. Massive Increase In Homeowner Insolvencies. CRA goes wild – an extreme increase in Aggressive Collections. Credit Availability has DRIED UP. Here is a direct video link.
The idea that re-shoring manufacturing will increase good-paying jobs in North America faces some challenges from automation. Corporations focus on profit margins, so where machines are more efficient than human labour, automation will win out.
Factories have been transformed by automation, with robots now taking on a sizeable proportion of jobs once done by people – lifting heavy loads, assembling parts, and more. Here is a direct video link.
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