US prices rose 2.7% in the year to November, according to federal data released a day after Donald Trump claimed they were falling “very fast” on his watch.
The latest consumer price index, released on Wednesday morning, was down from 3% in September, and short of economists’ expectations of about 3.1% for last month.
It comes amid questions over the strength of the US economy. The longest US federal government shutdown in history halted collection of key data. There was no inflation report for October, and data was only collected for the second half of November.
Latest inflation chart
In a live TV address on Tuesday night, Trump claimed prices were falling “rapidly”, despite evidence to the contrary. “I am bringing those high prices down, and bringing them down very fast,” the US president said.
Price growth, which surged in the US to its highest level in a generation three years ago amid economic disruption wrought by Covid, fell back sharply. It has stubbornly remained above standard levels, however, and after retreating to 2.3% in April, it has since climbed higher – amid persisting concerns around affordability.
The latest rise in prices coincides with a climbing unemployment rate, which hit 4.6% in November – a four-year high. Despite this growth, the number of jobs added to the economy last month was higher than economists anticipated, rising 64,000 after 105,000 jobs were lost in October.
The White House has insisted that any inflation are remnants from the Biden administration. “I have no higher priority than making America affordable again,” Trump told his supporters at a rally in Pennsylvania last week, echoing promises he made during his presidential campaign. “They caused the high prices and we’re bringing them down.”
When inflation hit a 40-year high in June 2022, at 9.1%, many economists put it down to a combination of pandemic stimulus and recovery rippling through the economy. By summer 2024, inflation had fallen back to 3%, though Americans were still feeling the pain of high prices.
Economists widely agree that Trump’s tariffs have made prices rise. Even though the US president eventually exempted certain imports like coffee, bananas and beef from tariffs, the overall effective tariff rate is still the highest it’s been since 1938. The Yale Budget Lab estimated that, even with exemptions, Trump’s tariffs will cause prices to rise $1,700 for the average American household.
Recent polls show that Americans, still price sensitive from increases seen in 2022, are now shifting the blame onto Trump. Among other national issues listed in the YouGov/Economists poll, Trump’s net approval on prices have fallen the most compared to other issues like immigration and national security. Meanwhile, another poll from the University of Michigan’s Survey of Consumers shows that consumer expectation of inflation has soared this year since January.
The rise in both prices and unemployment has created a tricky situation for the Federal Reserve, which is tasked with trying to keep both low. The central bank reduced interest rates three times this year, but defied Trump’s demands for deeper cuts.
“We are committed to 2% inflation, and we will deliver 2% inflation, but it is a complicated and difficult situation where the labor market is also under pressure,” the Fed chair, Jerome Powell, said last week.
Fed officials have signaled that it may pause any further rate cuts as inflation and unemployment appear to be reaching a balance. Interest rates are currently sitting at a range of 3.5% to 3.75%.
Powell also noted that Fed officials will be careful about assessing economic data from November, given the impact of the shutdown. “We are going to get data, but we are going to have to look at it carefully and [with] a somewhat skeptical eye by the January meeting,” he said.
Today sees this government’s landmark Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 receive Royal Assent, which marks the conclusion of its passage through Parliament. This legislation will speed up and streamline the planning process for housing and critical infrastructure, including major clean energy and transport projects, accelerating delivery while securing better outcomes for nature. Together with the government’s wider planning agenda, the Act will ensure this country has a planning system which supports the delivery of our ambitious targets to build 1.5 million homes in England, fast-tracks 150 planning decisions on major infrastructure projects, and supports the delivery of our Clean Power 2030 target.
I want to highlight in particular, however, the role this Act will play in safeguarding the UK’s long-term energy security in a clean and cost-effective manner by enshrining in law a new mechanism to support the delivery of the next generation of long duration electricity storage (LDES). As set out in the ‘Clean Power 2030 Action Plan’, LDES is critical to achieving this government’s Clean Power 2030 ambition, which will in turn help us to develop homegrown energy with the enhanced energy security and affordability that it brings. It has been over 40 years since the last new LDES asset was commissioned on the GB grid and this measure addresses the specific LDES market failure.
LDES can encompass pumped storage hydro (PSH), compressed and liquid air energy storage (CAES and LAES), and certain types of battery that can supply electricity continuously for eight hours or more without recharging. This 8-hour plus duration, which is significantly higher than existing electricity storage assets, meets a specific electricity system security need. It enables the electricity system to store clean wind and solar power when it is plentiful and use it when most needed. It’s a crucial part of making Britain a clean energy superpower.
In the government response to the LDES consultation in October last year which followed extensive industry consultation, government confirmed that to enable investment in LDES, a cap and floor scheme should be introduced, similar to that used successfully by Ofgem to significantly increase GB electricity interconnection capacity. It also confirmed that Ofgem would act as the delivery body and regulator responsible for delivering and administering the LDES cap and floor scheme.
The cap and floor scheme is technology neutral. It provides revenue support to developers should their returns fall below a set threshold known as the ‘floor’, to provide additional confidence to investors that debt costs will be recovered. In return, if profitability is above a defined ‘cap’, developers will have to return most or all the returns above the cap to energy consumers. This gives the market confidence to deliver the LDES we need without undue risk to consumers. Under the interconnector cap and floor regime, a floor has never been engaged, though a cap has and energy consumers have been able to share in high revenues.
Ofgem began work to develop the LDES cap and floor scheme as soon as it was announced in the government consultation response in October 2024. Ofgem opened the first application window for the scheme in April 2025 and plans to make final decisions on successful projects in Summer 2026. In parallel to Ofgem’s delivery work commencing, the government introduced legislation to Parliament, via the Planning and Infrastructure Act, directing Ofgem to implement this scheme. Government had the firm expectation that this legislation would be enacted in advance of Ofgem’s decisions on the identity of LDES projects to award a cap and floor scheme to within a scale of capacity Ofgem has been advised by NESO is required to meet electricity system needs.
I am grateful that Ofgem has already made great progress in taking steps to implement the cap and floor scheme. In March, we jointly published a Technical Decision Document. In April, Ofgem opened the scheme for applications, assessing 171 bids for eligibility over the summer. In September, Ofgem shortlisted 77 eligible projects alongside its publication of the Financial and Multi-Criteria Assessment Frameworks. Given the importance of LDES to achieving this government’s ambition of becoming a Clean Energy Superpower, I am delighted that delivery of this scheme by Ofgem remains on track, and that Ofgem’s design of the scheme ensures the interests of consumers are protected.
Ofgem will have some difficult decisions to make over the coming months on the scale and identity of LDES projects to support with a cap and floor agreement. I know Ofgem will have the interests of energy consumers at heart as it ensures GB develops the LDES needed to deliver reliable and cost-effective clean energy that reduces our dependency on volatile international fossil fuel markets. There are a small minority who oppose this scheme, or who would prefer that its design shifted focus to some goal other than supporting investment in the very best LDES assets under the best terms for consumers. Let me be clear: this government gives full support to Ofgem for its overall approach to delivering the LDES cap and floor scheme. I look forward to an exciting 2026 for LDES, in which Ofgem successfully concludes the first application window of the scheme with the support of government, Parliament, NESO and industry.
Michael Shanks MP, Minister of State (Minister for Energy)
The number of employees receiving pay and benefits from their employer—measured as “payroll employment” in the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours—increased by 21,200 (+0.1%) in October, largely offsetting a decline of 24,300 (-0.1%) in September. On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment was up 68,300 (+0.4%) in October.
Chart 1
Payroll employment increases in October, offsetting the decline in September
In October, monthly payroll employment increases were recorded in 9 of the 20 sectors, led by health care and social assistance (+10,300; +0.4%), followed by finance and insurance (+5,500; +0.6%), public administration (+5,100; +0.4%), and transportation and warehousing (+4,700; +0.5%). The gains were partially offset by declines in administration and support, waste management and remediation services (-5,200; -0.6%), retail trade (-2,000; -0.1%), wholesale trade (-1,600; -0.2%), and professional, scientific and technical services (-1,500; -0.1%).
Meanwhile, job vacancies in Canada decreased by 19,100 (-3.9%) to 467,000 in October, more than offsetting the uptick in September (+11,000; +2.3%). The number of vacancies in October was the lowest since October 2017. On a year-over-year basis, job vacancies were down 65,200 (-12.3%) in October 2025.
Chart 2
Payroll employment increases in nine sectors and decreases in four in October
Health care and social assistance records payroll employment increase in October
Payroll employment in health care and social assistance rose by 10,300 (+0.4%) in October, following an increase of 9,100 (+0.4%) in September. Payroll employment in this sector has generally trended upward since 2022. On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment in health care and social assistance was up by 71,700 (+3.0%) in October 2025.
In October, monthly payroll employment increases were recorded in 13 out of 18 industries in the sector, led by child day-care services (+2,900; +1.4%), nursing care facilities (+2,100; +0.9%) and general medical and surgical hospitals (+1,900; +0.3%).
Payroll employment in finance and insurance increases for the fourth consecutive month
Payroll employment in finance and insurance (+5,500; +0.6%) rose for the fourth consecutive month in October, bringing the cumulative gain to 16,700 (+2.0%) since July. The increase since July was concentrated in credit intermediation and related activities (+8,700; +2.1%) and in insurance carriers and related activities (+5,500; +2.0%).
On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment in finance and insurance was up by 15,600 (+1.8%) in October.
Payroll employment in public administration increases in October
Payroll employment in public administration (+5,100; +0.4%) increased for the third consecutive month in October, bringing the cumulative gain to 9,000 (+0.7%) since August. The three-month gain in the sector partially offset the cumulative decline of 10,300 (-0.8%) recorded from April to July 2025.
Year over year, payroll employment in public administration was up 7,100 (+0.5%) in October. Net gains in provincial and territorial public administration (+11,800; +3.4%) and local, municipal and regional public administration (+10,000; +2.0%) were partially offset by a decline in federal government public administration (-16,500; -4.3%).
Transportation and warehousing records payroll employment increase in October
Payroll employment in transportation and warehousing increased by 4,700 (+0.5%) in October, following little variation from July to September.
On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment in the sector was up by 15,100 (+1.8%) in October. Year-over-year increases were recorded in 8 out of 11 subsectors, led by warehousing and storage (+5,300; +7.1%), couriers and messengers (+4,600; +5.9%), transit and ground passenger transportation (+4,200; +3.4%) and rail transportation (+3,200; +7.5%). Meanwhile, truck transportation (-4,500; -2.1%) was the lone subsector to record a year-over-year decline in October.
Payroll employment in administrative and support, waste management and remediation services decreases for the second consecutive month
Payroll employment in administrative and support, waste management and remediation services (-5,200; -0.6%) fell for a second consecutive month in October, following a decline of 5,900 (-0.7%) in September. The cumulative decline over September and October was led by employment services (-5,700; -3.0%) and business support services (-1,900; -2.9%).
On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment in the sector was down 3,400 (-0.4%) in October.
Average weekly earnings continue to increase on a year-over-year basis
Year over year, average weekly earnings were up 2.2% to $1,312 in October, following a 2.9% increase in September. In general, growth in average weekly earnings can reflect a range of factors, including changes in wages, composition of employment, hours worked and base-year effects.
Month over month, average weekly earnings were little changed in October.
In October, average weekly hours worked were down 0.3% to 33.3 hours, compared with 33.4 hours in September. On a year-over-year basis, average weekly hours were down 0.3% in October.
Job vacancies decrease in October
In October, job vacancies in Canada decreased by 19,100 (-3.9%) to 467,000, more than offsetting the uptick in September (+11,000; +2.3%). The number of vacancies in October was the lowest since October 2017. On a year-over-year basis, job vacancies were down 65,200 (-12.3%) in October 2025.
The job vacancy rate—which corresponds to the number of vacant positions as a proportion of total labour demand—was 2.6% in October, down 0.1 percentage points from September (2.7%) and down 0.4 percentage points from October 2024 (3.0%).
There were 3.3 unemployed persons for every job vacancy in October 2025, little changed from September. On a year-over-year basis, the unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio was up by 0.5. This reflected a decrease in the number of job vacancies (-64,800; -12.2%, excluding the territories), coupled with an increase in the number of unemployed persons (+81,000; +5.5%). Over the same period, the unemployment rate rose from 6.6% to 6.9% (according to the Labour Force Survey). The unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio excludes the territories for consistency with the comparable Labour Force Survey data.
Infographic 1
Job vacancies and job vacancy rate decrease in October
Job vacancies decrease in four sectors and increase in one
In October, job vacancies were down in finance and insurance (-4,500 to 14,300), administrative and support, waste management and remediation services (-3,200 to 23,200), real estate and rental and leasing (-1,600 to 6,300), as well as information and cultural industries (-1,100 to 6,700). Meanwhile, job vacancies increased in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (+1,400 to 5,000).
In administrative and support, waste management and remediation services, the decline in October brought the number of vacancies (23,200) to a level comparable with January 2016. The job vacancy rate in the sector fell to 2.7% in October 2025, the lowest since comparable data became available in the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey in April 2015.
On a year-over-year basis, the job vacancy rate fell in 11 out of 20 sectors in October 2025. Health care and social assistance (-1.0 percentage points to 3.8%) saw the largest percentage point decline in the job vacancy rate, followed by agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (-0.8 percentage points to 2.9%) and transportation and warehousing (-0.7 percentage points to 2.6%).
The only sector to record a year-over-year increase was manufacturing, where the job vacancy rate rose by 0.2 percentage points to 2.2% in October. This increase in the job vacancy rate in manufacturing was primarily due to the decline in payroll employment over the period.
Chart 3
Job vacancy rate falls in 11 out of 20 sectors year over year
Job vacancy rate down in seven provinces on a year-over-year basis
Year over year, the job vacancy rate in October was down in seven provinces, with Saskatchewan (-0.8 percentage points to 2.8%), Manitoba (-0.7 percentage points to 2.7%) and British Columbia (-0.7 percentage points to 3.0%) recording the largest declines.
In October, there were 7.2 unemployed persons for every job vacancy in Newfoundland and Labrador, the highest ratio among the provinces. In comparison, the unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio was lowest in Quebec (2.3), followed by Saskatchewan (2.5) and Manitoba (2.7).
Map 1
Unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio increases in six provinces
Sustainable Development Goals
On January 1, 2016, the world officially began implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—the United Nations’ transformative plan of action that addresses urgent global challenges over the next 15 years. The plan is based on 17 specific sustainable development goals.
The Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours is an example of how Statistics Canada supports the reporting on the Global Goals for Sustainable Development. This release will be used in helping to measure the following goals:
Note to readers
Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours
The key objective of the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH) is to provide a monthly portrait of the level of earnings, employment and hours worked, by detailed industry, at the national, provincial and territorial levels.
Payroll employment, as measured by the SEPH, refers to the number of employees receiving pay and benefits (employment income) during a given month. The survey excludes the self-employed, owners and partners of unincorporated businesses and professional practices, and employees in the agricultural sector.
SEPH estimates are produced by integrating information from three sources: a census of approximately 1 million payroll deduction records provided by the Canada Revenue Agency; the Business Payrolls Survey, which collects data from a sample of 15,000 establishments; and administrative records of federal, provincial and territorial public administration employment, provided by these levels of government.
Estimates of average weekly earnings and hours worked are based on a sample and are therefore subject to sampling variability. This analysis focuses on differences between estimates that are statistically significant at the 68% confidence level. Payroll employment estimates are based on a census of administrative data and are not subject to sampling variability.
With each release of SEPH data, data for the preceding month are revised. Users are encouraged to use the most up-to-date data available for each month.
Statistics Canada also produces employment estimates from its Labour Force Survey (LFS). The LFS is a monthly household survey, the main objective of which is to divide the working-age population into three mutually exclusive groups: the employed (including the self-employed), the unemployed and those not in the labour force. This survey is the official source for the unemployment rate, and it collects data on the sociodemographic characteristics of all people in the labour market.
Employment trends from the SEPH and from the LFS generally track each other closely, especially over longer periods of time. That said, because of differences in concepts, definitions and methodologies, variations in employment levels in SEPH and in the LFS may differ, especially over shorter periods. For a more in-depth discussion of the conceptual differences between employment measures from the LFS and the SEPH, refer to Section 8 of the Guide to the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (Catalogue number72-203-G).
The SEPH and LFS both also provide monthly indicators of pay received by employees. Used together, average weekly earnings (from SEPH) and average hourly wages (from the LFS) can provide a comprehensive portrait of pay dynamics in Canada. For information on definitions for each indicator, key conceptual and measurement differences, and guidance to data users on when to use each indicator, refer to the report “Earnings and Wages – A guide to using indicators from the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours and the Labour Force Survey.”
Unless otherwise stated, this release presents seasonally adjusted data, which facilitate comparisons because the effects of seasonal variations are removed. For more information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.
Non-farm payroll employment data are for all hourly and salaried employees and for the “other employees” category, which includes piece-rate and commission-only employees.
Unless otherwise specified, average weekly hours data are for hourly and salaried employees only and exclude businesses that could not be classified to a North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 2022 version 1.0 code.
All earnings data include overtime and exclude businesses that could not be classified to a NAICS code. Earnings data are based on gross taxable payroll before source deductions. Average weekly earnings are derived by dividing total weekly earnings by the number of employees. Changes in average weekly earnings can reflect a range of factors, including changes in wages, composition of employment, hours worked and base-year effects.
The base-year effect refers to the impact that trends from 12 months earlier (the base month) have on the current month’s estimate of year-over-year change. In the case of SEPH, when the average weekly earnings in the base month is at the peak of a short-term trend, this tends to have a downward effect on year-over-year average weekly earnings growth in the current month. In contrast, if the value of the base month is at a low point of a trend, this tends to have an upward effect on the current month’s year-over-year growth in average weekly earnings.
Job Vacancy and Wage Survey
The Job Vacancy and Wage Survey (JVWS) collection is done on a quarterly basis. The quarterly sample of business locations is allocated to the three collection months of the quarter, approximately balanced by province and by industrial sector across each of the three months. This allows both quarterly and monthly estimates to be produced.
Preliminary monthly estimates are produced for job vacancies, job vacancy rates and payroll employment using available responses from business locations sampled in the corresponding reference month. The reference period for the JVWS is the first day of the respective month. This analysis focuses on differences between estimates that are statistically significant at the 68% confidence level.
These preliminary monthly estimates are revised and finalized when the corresponding quarterly estimates are released or shortly thereafter. Users are encouraged to use the most up-to-date data available for each month.
Unless otherwise stated, this release presents seasonally adjusted data, which facilitate comparisons because the effects of seasonal variations are removed. For more information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.
While JVWS employment is calibrated to the SEPH, SEPH payroll employment and JVWS preliminary monthly employment figures may differ because of calibration grouping and differences in scope and reference period.
The unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio excludes the territories for consistency with the geographic coverage of the comparable LFS data (table 14-10-0287-01).
The JVWS also provides comprehensive quarterly data on job vacancies by industrial sector and detailed occupation for Canada and the provinces, territories and economic regions; offered hourly wages; and job vacancy characteristics. More information about the concepts and use of data from the JVWS is available in the Guide to the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey (Catalogue number75-514-G).
Real-time data tables
Tables 14-10-0357-01 and 14-10-0358-01 have now been achieved.
Real-time data tables 14-10-0331-01 and 14-10-0332-01 will be updated on January 12, 2026.
New data table on monthly payroll employment for agriculture and support activities
A new data table (14-10-0481) presenting the number of payroll employees in the agriculture and support activities industries is now available on the Statistics Canada website. This new monthly table includes all industries primarily engaged in crop production, animal production and aquaculture, and their respective support activities since January 2025.
To classify employment data by industry, the SEPH program uses industry codes assigned to businesses based on their main revenue-generating activity, using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). The population covered in this new SEPH data table includes crop production (NAICS 111), support activities for crop production (NAICS 1151), animal production and aquaculture (NAICS 112), and support activities for animal production (NAICS 1152). It is important to note that these agriculture-related industries are excluded from the total SEPH employment counts presented in table 14-10-0201-01.
Next release
November 2025 data for SEPH and JVWS will be released on January 29, 2026.
Products
More information about the concepts and use of the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours is available in the Guide to the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (Catalogue number72-203-G).
The product “Earnings and payroll employment in brief: Interactive app” (14200001) is now available. This interactive data visualization application provides a comprehensive picture of the Canadian labour market using the most recent data from the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours. The estimates are seasonally adjusted and available by province and largest industrial sector. Historical estimates that go back 10 years are also included. The interactive application allows users to explore and personalize the information presented quickly and easily. Combine multiple provinces and industrial sectors to create your own labour market domains of interest.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
Media Advisory: Minister Petten to Provide Update on Highway Infrastructure Project – News Releases
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The Honourable Barry Petten, Deputy Premier and Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, will provide an update on a highway infrastructure project today (Thursday, December 18).
The media availability will take place in the scrum area in front of the House of Assembly, Confederation Building, at 1:00 p.m.
Minister Petten will be joined by Jerry Earle, President of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees.
The Governing Council today decided to keep the three key ECB interest rates unchanged. Its updated assessment reconfirms that inflation should stabilise at the 2% target in the medium term.
The new Eurosystem staff projections show headline inflation averaging 2.1% in 2025, 1.9% in 2026, 1.8% in 2027 and 2.0% in 2028. For inflation excluding energy and food, staff project an average of 2.4% in 2025, 2.2% in 2026, 1.9% in 2027 and 2.0% in 2028. Inflation has been revised up for 2026, mainly because staff now expect services inflation to decline more slowly. Economic growth is expected to be stronger than in the September projections, driven especially by domestic demand. Growth has been revised up to 1.4% in 2025, 1.2% in 2026 and 1.4% in 2027 and is expected to remain at 1.4% in 2028.
The Governing Council is determined to ensure that inflation stabilises at its 2% target in the medium term. It will follow a data-dependent and meeting-by-meeting approach to determining the appropriate monetary policy stance. In particular, the Governing Council’s interest rate decisions will be based on its assessment of the inflation outlook and the risks surrounding it, in light of the incoming economic and financial data, as well as the dynamics of underlying inflation and the strength of monetary policy transmission. The Governing Council is not pre-committing to a particular rate path.
Key ECB interest rates
The interest rates on the deposit facility, the main refinancing operations and the marginal lending facility will remain unchanged at 2.00%, 2.15% and 2.40% respectively.
Asset purchase programme (APP) and pandemic emergency purchase programme (PEPP)
The APP and PEPP portfolios are declining at a measured and predictable pace, as the Eurosystem no longer reinvests the principal payments from maturing securities.
***
The Governing Council stands ready to adjust all of its instruments within its mandate to ensure that inflation stabilises at its 2% target in the medium term and to preserve the smooth functioning of monetary policy transmission. Moreover, the Transmission Protection Instrument is available to counter unwarranted, disorderly market dynamics that pose a serious threat to the transmission of monetary policy across all euro area countries, thus allowing the Governing Council to more effectively deliver on its price stability mandate.
The President of the ECB will comment on the considerations underlying these decisions at a press conference starting at 14:45 CET today.
With its technology reaching more than 50 million customers, Metropolis manages more than 4,200 parking locations and has aviation services in over 350 locations across North America
Companies will work together to incorporate vertiports into new and existing facilities featuring Metropolis’ seamless AI recognition technology – streamlining the customer journey
Integrated mobility hubs to offer air travel as a seamless extension of ground transportation
In the near-term, Joby’s Blade Urban Air Mobility to leverage Metropolis’ Bags VIP services in NYC area
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. & LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE:JOBY), a company developing electric air taxis for commercial passenger service, today announced a partnership with Metropolis Technologies, Inc., a leader in applied AI for the real world, to develop 25 vertiports across the United States utilizing Metropolis’ extensive network of parking locations. The partnership will incorporate Metropolis’ AI-based recognition technology, as well the company’s extensive footprint across aviation and baggage services.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251218861385/en/
Following its $1.5 billion acquisition of SP+, and $1.6 billion Series D financing, Metropolis is the largest parking network and operator in North America, operating more than 4,200 parking locations, as well as aviation services in over 350 locations. The planned vertiports will be strategically selected across Metropolis’ portfolio in early electric air taxi markets and use Metropolis’ computer vision technology; the companies will be evaluating both new and existing facilities for the integration of vertiports.
“For air taxis to deliver on their promise of seamless urban travel, they must connect directly with the existing ground transportation ecosystem,” said JoeBen Bevirt, CEO and founder of Joby. “By leveraging existing parking infrastructure to create mobility hubs, we can deliver on our vision of seamless connectivity for our customers and also maximize the value of those sites without needing to build infrastructure from scratch.”
The companies plan to leverage Metropolis’ world-class technology, including biometrics, broader computer vision and services like baggage handling, to accelerate Joby’s efforts to integrate its air taxi service directly into existing ground transportation hubs and deploy compact, high-throughput vertiport designs that satisfy safety and regulatory standards. Under its Bags Inc. subsidiary, Metropolis will initially bring its Bags VIP service to Joby’s Blade Urban Air Mobility, which provides flights between Manhattan and JFK or Newark airports in five minutes, bypassing up to two hours of traffic and eliminating common airport pain points. By providing baggage handling to Blade passengers in the New York City area, this partnership will remove friction and allow more people to take advantage of Blade’s service without needing to worry about luggage requirements. Metropolis already operates parking, advanced luggage logistics, remote check-in and in-terminal guest services that streamline the traveler experience across more than 350 airports in North America.
Metropolis CEO, Alex Israel, commented on the partnership, “The real world is the next frontier for AI, and our partnership with Joby marks a critical first step in expanding the Metropolis platform into true mobility hubs to deliver remarkable value for Members and partners alike. This transformational partnership is the very definition of Applied AI in the physical world. We are taking the data and recognition capabilities we’ve built in our network and extending it to air travel, creating the seamless, personalized, and magical experience that is the foundation of the Recognition Economy.”
About Joby
Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE:JOBY) is a California-based transportation company developing an all-electric, vertical take-off and landing air taxi. Joby intends to both operate its fast, quiet, and convenient air taxi service in cities around the world and sell its aircraft to other operators and partners. To learn more, visit www.jobyaviation.com.
About Metropolis
Metropolis is an artificial intelligence company for the real world. Its Computer Vision platform eliminates friction from daily life, powers checkout-free payments and unlocks seamless, predictive and personalized experiences everywhere consumers transact.
Metropolis is pioneering the Recognition Economy, transforming physical spaces into responsive environments with an Intelligence Layer that understands presence, anticipates needs and personalizes moments. Leveraging AI, Metropolis’ platform understands, adapts and responds to Members in real time.
Adding more than 1 million Members each month, it is one of the fastest-growing technology companies in the United States and envisions a future where transacting in the real world is even easier than online. Following its take-private acquisition of SP+, Metropolis is now the largest parking network in the United States, with 4,200+ locations and operations in 40 countries worldwide. Its proprietary AI technology touches 50 million customers and processes over $5 billion in payments annually.
To learn more, please visit www.metropolis.io.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to, statements regarding our business plan, objectives, goals and market opportunity; plans for, and potential benefits of, our strategic partnerships, including our partnership with Metropolis, our plan to develop 25 vertiports across the US and the planned partnership between our Blade Urban Air Mobility subsidiary and Bags VIP; and our current expectations relating to our business, financial condition, results of operations, prospects, capital needs and growth of our operations. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements may include words such as “anticipate”, “estimate”, “expect”, “project”, “plan”, “intend”, “believe”, “may”, “will”, “should”, “can have”, “likely” and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of the timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or other events. All forward looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including: our ability to launch our air taxi service and the growth of the urban air mobility market generally; our ability to produce aircraft that meet our performance expectations in the volumes and on the timelines that we project; the competitive environment in which we operate; our future capital needs; our ability to adequately protect and enforce our intellectual property rights; our ability to effectively respond to evolving regulations and standards relating to our aircraft; our reliance on third-party suppliers and service partners; uncertainties related to our estimates of the size of the market for our service and future revenue opportunities; and other important factors discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on February 27, 2025, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on May 8, 2025 and August 7, 2025, and in future filings and other reports we file with or furnish to the SEC. Any such forward-looking statements represent management’s estimates and beliefs as of the date of this release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change.
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The learning center at the historic National Courts Building on Lafayette Square, in Washington, D.C., lets middle and high school students explore how ideas become inventions, how protests can lead to changes in the law, and how courts influence daily life.
The center is one of a growing number of civics education centers, museums, and exhibits in federal court buildings across the country. Educational materials at the centers include information and activities about the Constitution, landmark Supreme Court cases, federal court basics, jury service, and careers in the federal court system.
Students also explore the historic houses that make up the Federal Circuit building. The homes once headquartered NASA, the National Woman’s Party, and other organizations that shaped the nation’s history. The experience includes a mock trial segment, which allows students to play the roles of attorneys, jurors, and judge. Each visit also features a personal conversation with a federal judge, offering a unique window into how the law influences our daily lives and future innovations.
“Through our tour program, we will invite students to explore the rich history that happened in our buildings that helped shape civic life in both the District of Columbia and the nation over the past two centuries,” Moore said.
The approximately 2,400-square-foot learning space opened on Sept. 15 and has already attracted 300 student visitors. The Center offers scheduled tours Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. by appointment only. For information on scheduling a guided tour or class field trip, visit the Center for Innovation and Law website.
With the holiday season approaching, and often more garbage accumulation than usual, the City of Saint John will be allowing two (2) extra bags of garbage per household during the two weeks after Christmas.
Residents on a weekly pickup schedule can place two extra bags of garbage at the curb without a bag tag starting Friday, December 26 and ending Wednesday, December 31.
Residents with a bi-weekly pickup schedule can place two extra bags of garbage at the curb without a bag tag on their regular pickup day, starting Friday, December 26 and ending Wednesday, January 7.
While the holiday season tends to generate more waste, residents and households are encouraged to continue to reduce what they throw in the garbage. A few ways to reduce waste include reusing gift bags, using recyclable gift wrap, composting food scraps and recycling cardboard and plastic packaging when possible.
Styrofoam, crinkly wrappers and bags, and other flexible packaging can be recycled at three redemption centers in the city: Golden Mile Redemption, Pubs Redemption, and Fundy Redemption Centre. For more information on recycling, visit Circular Materials website.
All Waste Wise program details can be found on the City’s website including an FAQ, bag tag vendor locations and sorting guides.
Here to help – For inquiries related to municipal services, contact the City of Saint John Customer Service Centre at (506) 658-4455, email [email protected] or visit us in person on the Ground Floor of City Hall, 15 Market Square, Monday to Friday (excluding holidays), 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The Biotech Act has been surrounded by much mystique, with no impact assessment being conducted, a rushed interservice consultation, and diverging rumors about its content (see Sidley’s “Will the EU Become the Most Attractive Place for Life Sciences? How the EU Woos Biotech” here). Now, after months of anticipation, the publication of the Proposal for the European Biotech Act (Biotech Act I) provides the clearest signal yet of the EU’s determination to strengthen biopharmaceutical innovation, clinical research, and manufacturing in Europe. Together with the Pharmaceutical Package, on which the European Council and Parliament recently reached a provisional agreement (see Sidley Update of December 2025) and the proposed Critical Medicines Act (see Sidley Update of July 2025), Biotech Act I forms part of a broader effort to boost EU competitiveness, security of supply, and resilience in the life sciences sector. Biotech Act I now enters the ordinary legislative procedure in the European Parliament and Council, and final adoption is not expected before end 2026 at the (very) earliest.
This Update discusses the key elements of Biotech Act I that are most relevant for life sciences companies, and explains how the proposal seeks to address existing regulatory and structural bottlenecks and what to expect next.
Biotech Act I and its impact on life sciences companies
The proposed Biotech Act I combines industrial‑policy measures with targeted amendments to existing EU life sciences legislation. Key aspects of the proposed Biotech Act I:
Clinical trials: a major overhaul of the Clinical Trials Regulation (CTR). Although the CTR harmonized the EU rules for clinical trials, it has not delivered the speed and predictability initially expected. Sponsors continue to face long and variable timelines, parallel ethics committee reviews and limited flexibility to adapt trials during their lifecycle.
To address these issues, Biotech Act I proposes the following:
Shorter and more predictable timelines. (i) Multinational clinical trials: Overall authorization timelines would be reduced from ~106 to 75 days, and from 75 to 47 days where no request for information is issued. (ii) Advanced therapy medicinal product (ATMP) trials: The additional 50‑day extension currently applicable to ATMPs would be abolished, reflecting the increased regulatory experience. (iii) Substantial modifications: Timelines would be more than halved (from 96 to 47 days), and parallel substantial modifications would be possible where they concern independent aspects of the dossier.
Enhanced role for reporting Member State (rMS) and coordinated ethics committee review. The rMS’ role would be strengthened and become the central lead for scientific, ethical, and regulatory assessment of Part I of the dossier. Other Member States concerned (MSc) would be able to raise objections only on limited and clearly defined grounds. Another novel aspect would be stronger coordination among national ethics committees, including the involvement of the rMS’ ethics committee in the Part I assessment.
New risk-proportionate trial categories. In addition to the existing concept of low‑intervention trials, the proposal would introduce “minimal‑intervention clinical trials.” The approval of these trials, which use authorized medicines in accordance with the marketing authorisation, would be limited to an ethical review.
Lifecycle flexibility. The proposal introduces the novel concept of an EU‑level investigational medicinal product core dossier, aiming to reduce duplication for clinical trials using the same investigational medicine. An MSc would assume the role of the core dossier’s depositary and be responsible for verifying completeness and suitability and managing requests for updates. A core dossier would help streamline data collection, improve oversight and support efficient assessment.
Digitalization, AI, and data protection. The proposal provides an explicit legal basis for General Data Protection Regulation–compliant processing of clinical trial data. It also anticipates that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) issues guidance on the use of AI in trial design, conduct, and analysis in coordination with the EU AI Office. Overall, if adopted, these changes would represent the most significant recalibration of the EU clinical trials framework since 2014, with the potential to materially improve the EU’s attractiveness for multinational and ATMP trials.
ATMPs, GMOs, and SoHO: targeted but impactful simplifications. Developers of ATMPs often face overlapping and duplicative requirements under pharmaceutical, genetically modified organism (GMO), and substances‑of‑human‑origin (SoHO) legislation, leading to delays without commensurate safety benefits.
Biotech Act I introduces targeted, risk‑proportionate adjustments to address these frictions.
ATMP-GMO interface. The proposal would introduce a risk‑proportionate exemption from the GMO environmental risk assessment for clearly defined categories of investigational ATMPs that present no or negligible risk, for example, replication‑deficient viral vectors without resistance genes. The corresponding GMO related requirements for manufacturing and import would be lifted during the trial. This would be a significant simplification for gene and cell therapy developers conducting multinational trials. Future-proofing the ATMP framework. The Commission would be empowered to update ATMP definitions by delegated acts to reflect scientific advances, without expanding the scope of the framework.Biotech Act I proposes a more integrated approach by introducing a single‑application pathway for combined studies in which a clinical trial is combined with a performance study of an in vitro diagnostic or clinical investigation of a medical device. In response to current challenges, the proposal anticipates that there can be multiple sponsors for combination studies.
Medicines–devices combinations: from coordination to integration. Combination products frequently face parallel and poorly aligned assessment pathways under medicines and medical‑device legislation.
Biotech Act I proposes a more integrated approach by introducing a single‑application pathway for combined studies in which a clinical trial is combined with a performance study of an in vitro diagnostic or clinical investigation of a medical device. In response to current challenges, the proposal anticipates that there can be multiple sponsors for combination studies.
Novel biotechnology: support and increased coordination. The proposal also establishes a number of support and coordinating tools. These include establishment of an EU Health Biotechnology Support Network, which shall support biotechnology developers, in particular small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs), startups, and scale-ups, in identifying, for example, applicable rules, regulatory pathways, and funding opportunities. The Commission shall also create a Union‑wide “regulatory status repository,” that is, a central database of regulatory classification and borderline decisions for medicines, medical devices, and combination products, to improve transparency, predictability, and consistency across the Member States. Moreover, the proposal would establish a Foresight Panel for Emerging Health Innovations, formalizing cross‑framework consultation among EMA, the Medical Device Coordination Group, the SoHO Coordination Board, and the Coordination Group on Health Technology Assessment.
Strategic projects, funding, and industrial scale-up. EU biotech SMEs and scale‑ups often struggle to secure late‑stage financing and to navigate slow authorization processes for manufacturing and infrastructure projects. To address this, Biotech Act I introduces the concepts of (a) health biotechnology strategic projects and (b) high-impact health biotechnology strategic projects. The goal is to support projects aimed at strengthening the EU’s industrial biomanufacturing capacity by, for example, providing access to funding, priority access to administrative support, and fast-tracked procedures at Member State level.
To improve such access to funding, the Biotech Act I proposal envisages an investment pilot to be established by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank Group (EIBG) for an initial two-year period. The pilot will make a variety of financial products available to biotech firms and projects across the business lifecycle, including by mobilizing private investment, and providing advisory support.
In advance of that pilot and emphasising the EU’s commitment to the industry, the European Commission and EIBG have announced a joint project “BioTechEU”, by which they aim to mobilize €10 billion in investment in 2026-27 into the biotech and life sciences sector, building on the EIBG’s existing €3.5 billion life sciences debt portfolio. The Commission and EIBG indicate that this project may lay the foundation for the Biotech Act I investment pilot.
NewSupplementary Protection Certificate (SPC) incentive. A targeted but powerful incentive would be the introduction of a 12‑month SPC extension for certain best‑in‑class biotechnology medicines and ATMPs, subject to genuine therapeutic innovation, multinational EU clinical trials, and at least one manufacturing step in the EU.
Next Steps and Outlook
Biotech Act I now enters the ordinary legislative procedure in the European Parliament and Council. Stakeholders have an early opportunity to engage with policymakers as the text is debated and amended. According to the Commission, a Biotech Act II is expected in 2026, which will shift the focus to the “wider biotech ecosystem beyond health to ensure a competitive internal market for all areas of biotechnology.”
By tackling clinical trials, ATMPs, digital tools, ethics, SME support, and supply resilience in one package, it looks like Biotech Act I may facilitate a more coherent and supportive framework for biopharmaceutical innovation in the EU. Coupled with strategic support, funding opportunities and scale-up backing, European health biotechnology has a real opportunity towards a pro-innovation framework that accelerates transformation. Together with the upcoming Biotech Act II, the Pharma Package, the proposed Critical Medicines Act, and the Life Sciences Strategy, the EU is taking steps to move toward a clearer, long-term approach to strengthening its biopharmaceutical ecosystem.
Sidley’s Global Life Sciences and Global Finance teams continue to closely monitor the Biotech Act, and we are available to assist companies in anticipating and managing related opportunities and challenges.
