The trend unemployment rate in Canada : searching for the unobservable / by Dany Brouillette, Marie-Noëlle Robitaille, Laurence Savoie-Chabot, Pierre St-Amant, Bassirou Gueye and Elise Nelson.: FB3-5/2019-13E-PDF

"In this paper, we assess several methods that have been used to measure the Canadian trend unemployment rate (TUR). We also consider improvements and extensions to some existing methods. The assessment is based on four criteria: (i) the extent to which methods provide explanations for changes in trend unemployment; (ii) whether revisions to unemployment gap (UGAP, the difference between the actual unemployment rate and TUR) estimates are well behaved; (iii) if UGAPs provide information about future inflation; and (iv) if UGAPs help explain historical data about wages and consumer price inflation. In our assessment of conformity to the second and third criteria, we use real-time data, i.e., the data available to policymakers at the time of making decisions. We find that while all methods we consider have both strengths and weaknesses, those based on variables thought to determine TUR provide better interpretation and tend to do at least as well as others against the other criteria. These are most promising for future work. Nevertheless, there is considerable uncertainty about the value of TUR, which suggests it would be prudent to use a range of models in research or policy work"--Abstract, page ii.

Permanent link to this Catalogue record:
publications.gc.ca/pub?id=9.870938&sl=0

Publication information
Department/Agency Bank of Canada.
Title The trend unemployment rate in Canada : searching for the unobservable / by Dany Brouillette, Marie-Noëlle Robitaille, Laurence Savoie-Chabot, Pierre St-Amant, Bassirou Gueye and Elise Nelson.
Series title Bank of Canada staff working paper, 1701-9397 ; 2019-13
Publication type Series - View Master Record
Language [English]
Format Electronic
Electronic document
Note(s) "March 2019."
Includes bibliographical references.
Includes abstract in French.
Publishing information Ottawa, Ontario, Canada : Bank of Canada = Banque du Canada, 2019.
©2019
Author / Contributor Brouillette, Dany, 1978- author.
Robitaille, Marie-Noëlle, author.
Savoie-Chabot, Laurence, author.
Gueye, Bassirou,‏ ‎1983- author.
Nelson, Elise, author.
St-Amant, Pierre, author.
Description 1 online resource (iii, 55 pages) : graphs.
Catalogue number
  • FB3-5/2019-13E-PDF
Subject terms Unemployment
Economic research
Methodology
Request alternate formats
To request an alternate format of a publication, complete the Government of Canada Publications email form. Use the form’s “question or comment” field to specify the requested publication.
Date modified: