AI tools used by one-third of workers

Canada’s workers are increasingly using generative artificial intelligence at work, but the scale of it depends on which field they are employed in, Statistics Canada said in a report released Thursday.

In March, just over one in three (35.9 per cent) of workers said they had used generative AI tools as part of their main job or business in the past 12 months, Statistics Canada said in a report titled “Use of generative artificial intelligence tools among Canadian workers.”

The report, which draws data from StatCan’s Labour Force Survey, said the vast majority of workers (93.4 per cent) are aware of generative AI tools, with more than half (51.5 per cent) saying they are familiar with how these tools are used.

More than half of workers (53.8 per cent) in a category that included professions like doctors, nurses, teachers and engineers reported using AI tools at work.

Read more about where these AI tools are most often used and by what age groups.

A ‘meaningful’ boost from new pipeline

A new oil pipeline to the West Coast would lift Canada and Alberta’s gross domestic product, but perhaps not to the degree the provincial and federal governments are forecasting, says a new report from TD Economics.

The government analysis predicts a 0.6 per cent boost to the national economy by the 2040s and 3.5 per cent to Alberta’s.

“While these figures provide a useful benchmark, they should be viewed as proposal-stage estimates from proponents and governments with a clear interest in advancing development, and therefore may lean optimistic,” economists Marc Ercolao and Likeleli Seitlheko wrote in the report released Monday.

Using more conservative assumptions, the economists said the increase could be more like 0.3 per cent nationally and two per cent provincially.

“Even if the realized impacts fall shy of official government estimates, the project would still represent a meaningful contribution to growth, particularly when combined with improving market access and export diversification,” Ercolao and Seitlheko wrote.

Read more about how the new pipeline is expected to help boost the economy.

How higher bond yields could be bad news

Borrowing costs could remain elevated and even rise sooner than expected for businesses and consumers, including in Canada, after experts say a sharp rise in U.S. bond yields this week was a major warning sign about inflation, interest rates and economic uncertainty.

The 30-year U.S. Treasury yield climbed above five per cent this week to about 5.25 per cent as of publication, the highest level since 2007.

The sharp increase came after the U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, with investors focusing on signals that rates could remain higher for longer, or even be raised again.

Three out of 12 voting members at the Fed dissented, or voted to raise rates, and the split may have contributed to concerns that inflation remains a challenge.

“That suggests that the U.S. is having a bit of a problem with inflation, keeping their costs under control, and so this is spooking markets,” economics professor Moshe Lander of Concordia University says.

“Beyond just the bond market, financial markets around the world reacted, as did foreign exchange markets, because it’s all connected.”

Read more about how higher bond yields can result in higher borrowing costs.