Our economy is likely in its deepest recession on record, and experts are saying it will only recover modestly over the coming year as it takes a direct hit from the coronavirus outbreak and a collapse in oil prices.
After the economy contracted sharply last month and lost a record 1.01 million jobs, economists have slashed back their economic forecasts due to lockdown measures and reeling oil prices which hit a record low last week as global economic activity came to a halt.
In a Reuters poll of 25 economists conducted in th last few days, Canada’s economy was predicted to have contracted at an annualized rate of 9.8% last quarter and to shrink 37.5% this quarter.
In a January poll, they predicted 1.6% and 1.7% growth, respectively, showing just how abruptly the economy has turned. If the latest forecasts are realized, it would mark the deepest recession in at least six decades.
Although the economy was predicted to bounce back and expand by a median 19% in the third quarter, and 11% in the fourth quarter, all but one of nine economists responding to an additional question said the risk to their second-half forecasts was skewed to the downside.
