CANADIANS BULLISH ABOUT JOBS

Canadians have become more confident in the prospect of wage hikes if they leave their job, another sign of health for the country’s labour market. The share of workers who say switching jobs would leave them better off financially has jumped sharply since 2018, according to a Nanos Research Group poll conducted for Bloomberg. Almost two in 10 respondents said their wages would increase if they lost their jobs or chose to find a new one. That’s an improvement from prior surveys, including one in December 2018, when as few as 12 per cent said they would be able to find a job that pays more. The results are broadly consistent with a strong labour market over the past year, and appear to reflect confidence that the economy can sustain recent wage gains. Stronger wage expectations would be good news if they encourage labour churn.