ANALYSIS: Bank of Canada Mum on Measure of Full Employment Amid Weakening Job Market

The BoC’s primary goal is to return inflation to 2 percent but it also has to support maximum sustainable employment

Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem and Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers hold a press conference at the Bank of Canada in Ottawa on March 6, 2024. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA—The Bank of Canada did not address a concept related to full employment in its March 6 interest rate announcement when discussing the weakening labour market. 

The BoC’s primary goal is to return inflation to 2 percent, which last occurred in 2020. But it also has to support maximum sustainable employment (MSE), similar to the full employment aspect of the dual mandate of the U.S. Federal Reserve. It’s a level that’s not directly measurable.