Consumer Price Index, January, 2015, published February 26, (2002=100)
The Consumer Price Index rose by 1.0% in January compared with January 2014, down from the 1.5% rate of annualized increase in December. The CPI in January for goods was down 0.2% from a year earlier while the CPI for services rose 2.1%. Gasoline prices decreased 26.9% from January 2014, after falling 16.6% in December. Overall, energy prices fell 12.9% between January 2014 and January 2015, following a 6.4% annualized rate of increase in December. Excluding energy, the annualized Consumer Price Index rose 2.3% in January, up from 2.2% in December. Food prices rose 4.6% (the largest...
Read MoreRetail Trade, December 2014, published February 20
Retail sales in December were $42.1 billion, down 2.0% from November but an increase of 4.0% from December 2013. This was the largest monthly decline since April 2010. Excluding sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers and by gasoline stations, retail sales were up by 4.7% from December 2013. Retail sales in volume terms were down 1.3% from November. Decreases in month-over-month sales were reported in 9 of 11 sectors representing 71% of retail trade. December 2014 sales over December 2013 were up in all provinces. British Columbia led the way with a 6.0% sales gain, followed by...
Read MoreWholesale Trade, December 2014, published February 18
Wholesalers sold $55.4 billion worth of goods and services in December, up 2.5% from November and 11.2% higher than in December 2013. Excluding the automotive sector, wholesale sales were up 9.0% from December 2013. In terms of volume, wholesale sales were up +2.4% in December from November. Annualized wholesale sales grew in nine provinces. Saskatchewan (+25.6%) led the way, followed by Nova Scotia (+17.8%) and Ontario (+13.9%). Quebec’s wholesale sales were up 5.3% from December 2013. Prince Edward lsland sustained the only loss (-2.5%). Wholesalers’ inventories in December...
Read MoreLabour Force Survey, January 2015, published February 6
Employment in January was up 35,400 from December. The unemployment rate was 6.6%, down from 6.7% in December. Construction employment was up 0.3% from December while manufacturing employment grew by 0.6% from a month earlier. In January, employment stood at 17.9 million, up 0.7% from January 2014. Full-time employment dropped by 11,800 from December, while part-time employment increased by 47,200 from the previous month. Full-time employment was up by 107,800 from January 2014, while part-time grew by 19,900 over the same period. Employment over the past year grew in five provinces. ...
Read MoreBuilding Permits, December 2014, published February 6
Municipalities issued $7.1 billion worth of building permits in December, up 7.7% from November and 10.4% higher than in December 2013. Seven provinces reported an increase in permits over a year ago. The largest increase was recorded in Manitoba (+82.5%) followed by Nova Scotia (+66.9%) and Prince Edward Island (+53.2%). The year-over-year losses were recorded in Quebec (-34.3%) followed by Saskatchewan (-12.3%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (-8.1%). Ontario posted a 24.8% annualized gain. Builders took out residential building permits worth $4.4 billion in December, unchanged from...
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