In this episode we dive into a major shift in the world of economics: the rise of high-frequency data. From job postings and air traffic stats to real-time payments and mobility trends, economists are increasingly turning to non-traditional data sources to make sense of a rapidly evolving economy.

Unlike traditional economic indicators that are released annually or quarterly, high-frequency data is collected and updated daily or even hourly. It offers a near real-time snapshot of economic activity, allowing analysts to detect shifts in employment, consumer behavior, and business sentiment as they happen.

This kind of data has become indispensable in a world where economic conditions can change overnight, when waiting weeks for official statistics is no longer an option.

We explore why economics is shifting towards this kind of data, hear from Vicinity Jobs founder Strac Ivanov on how data is reshaping our understanding of labour markets and skills needs and discuss the future of data in economics.

About our guests:

Strac Ivanov, Founder of Vicinity Jobs and now Director, Data Analytics and Engineering at the Conference Board of Canada

Strac Ivanov is the Director of Data Analytics and Engineering at The Conference Board of Canada. In this role, he leads the technical team responsible for developing and operating the Vicinity Jobs real-time labour market information platform.

Strac founded Vicinity Jobs in 2006. Under his leadership, the company grew into Canada’s pioneering leader in real-time labour market data collection and analysis. It was then acquired by The Conference Board of Canada in 2025.

With a master’s thesis on natural language processing algorithms and more than two decades of experience in internet services and big data analytics, Strac offers both deep technical expertise and extensive industry knowledge.

Tony Bonen, Executive Director, Economic Research

Tony Bonen is the Executive Director of Economic Research at The Conference Board of Canada. In this role Tony provides strategic leadership to a dynamic team producing insightful custom analyses for CBoC’s partners. He collaborates across disciplines and Focus Areas to ensure CBOC’s economic research is meaningful for leaders across Canada.

Tony brings significant experience managing research and providing guidance on a wide range of economic issues. Prior to joining CBoC, he served as the Executive Director at the Labour Market Information Council (LMIC), building on his previous work as LMIC’s founding Director of Research, Data and Analytics. While in the risk department at the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Tony led the development of housing price and macroeconomic forecasts used in stress testing. He analyzed the economic impacts of climate change and the US pension and retirement system at the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis, and the economic policy and geopolitical analysis affecting member countries while at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

Learn more:

Access our high-frequency labour market insights. Track job postings, skill trends, wages and more to make informed workforce planning and policy decisions.

https://www.conferenceboard.ca/services/data/#labour-market-insights