Household income rose moderately owing to an increase in employment, but also partly thanks to a moderate perworker nominal wage increase (driven mainly by rising working hours), an increase in dividend income, and the rise in stock prices, thereby supporting consumption activities. The economy was recovering steadily after the beginning of 2002, and the recovery trend was getting stronger (Chart 1).
Currently, with inflation well above our target, we are increasingly focused on countering the upside risks. At different stages in the pandemic we have changed our outlook and our policy stance to respond to the uncertain and fast-changing situation. What remained constant, See S. Kozicki and J. Vardy, “Communicating Uncertainty in Monetary Policy,” Bank of Canada Staff Discussion Paper No. 2017-14 (November 2017).