BC’s economic growth will improve in coming years: forecast
Posted February 14, 2013 7:03 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – A made-in-BC forecast says provincial economic growth will improve later this year and be substantially stronger after 2014.
Central 1 Credit Union says growth slowed to just 1.9 per cent last year, but will expand to 2.2 per cent this year and 2.8 per cent next year.
Chief Economist Helmut Pastrick predicts BC will not get above three per cent growth until 2015, averaging 3.7 per cent through 2017.
He says the US is “poised to break out of its subpar recovery, lifting BC exports.”
On the downside, Pastrick says a “mild correction” in housing “will reduce residential investment.” However, he believes the return to the PST “will lift consumer spending and provide some inflation relief” but increase business costs.
Central 1 predicts steady improvement in employment, resulting in pressure for higher wages.
