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The Canadian economy got off to a fast start in 2016 as real GDP expanded 0.6 per cent in the month of January, the fourth consecutive monthly increase. Output was led higher by gains in the manufacturing, oil and gas extraction, retail trade and finance industries. Given the strong start to the quarter, economic growth is tracking at a more than 3 per cent rate for the first quarter.The Cana…

US Non-farm payrolls increased for a record 73rd consecutive month in March, rising by 215,000 jobs.  The US unemployment rate edged slightly higher to 5 per cent.  Over the past three months, the US economy added an average of 209,000 jobs per month.The US economy is steadily growing and producing jobs at a good but not spectacular pace. Wage growth is low but seems to be increasing and infl…

The Bank of Canada announced this morning that it is maintaining its overnight rate at 0.5 per cent. In the press release accompanying the decision, the Bank noted that inflation is evolving as anticipated but that a weak economy will continue to dampen growth in consumer prices. Overall, the Bank judges that risks in the economy are roughly balanced, though financial vulnerabilities have incre…

Canadian housing starts jumped close to 30 per cent in February following a dip in activity to start the year. Total housing starts were 212,594 units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR).   The six-month trend in Canadian housing starts of 198,880 was up slightly.Housing starts in BC were the highest on record in February, reaching an astounding 50,780 units SAAR. The record-setting p…

Metro Vancouver home sales eclipsed 5,000 in March for the first time on record.Residential property sales in the region totaled 5,173 in March 2016, an increase of 27.4 per cent from the 4,060 sales recorded in March 2015 and an increase of 24 per cent compared to February 2016 when 4,172 homes sold.Last month’s sales were 56 per cent above the 10-year sales average for the month.“March …

Vancouver, BC – February 12, 2016. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 5,831 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) last month, up 33.2 per cent from January of last year. Total sales dollar volume was $4.39 billion in January, up 69.1 per cent compared to the previous year.The average MLS® residential price in the…

Some good news for the Canadian economy this morning as Statistics Canada reported manufacturing sales increased 1.2 per cent in December, the second consecutive monthly advance.  Sales were led higher by gains in the motor vehicle, wood product and chemical product industries. However, for all of 2015, manufacturing sales were down 1.5 per cent, posting the first annual decline since 2009, as …

Following a 1.7 per cent increase in November, Canadian retail sales disappointed in December, falling 2.2 per cent. Weakness in sales was widespread with 10 of 11 retail sub-sectors recording a decline in sales.  Given disappointing consumer spending in the final month of 2015, we estimate that growth the Canadian economy was approximately zero in the fourth quarter. In BC, retail sales fell 1…

Employment in Canada was essentially unchanged in January with the total number of employed Canadians dipping by 5,700 people. The national unemployment rate edged slightly higher from 7.1 to 7.2 per cent while the total number of hours worked, which is closely correlated with GDP growth, was up 1.2 per cent over the past 12 months.In BC, employment grew by a modest 1,200 job to break a strin…