Retail Trade, November 2014, published January 23
Retail sales in November were $43.0 billion, up 0.4% from October and an increase of 4.8% from November 2013. Excluding sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers and by gasoline stations, retail sales were up by 4.5% from November 2013. Statistics Canada attributed the sales increase to unseasonably cold weather, the timing of new product releases as well as promotional events. Retail sales in volume terms were up 0.8% from October. Increases in month-over-month sales were reported in 5 of 11 sectors representing 27% of retail trade. November 2014 sales over November 2013 were up in...
Read MoreConsumer Price Index, December 2014, published January 23, (2002=100)
The Consumer Price Index rose by 1.5% in December compared with December 2013, down from the 2.0% rate of annualized increase in November. The CPI in December for goods was up 0.7% from a year earlier while the CPI for services rose 2.1%. Gasoline prices decreased 16.6% from December 2013, after falling 5.9% in November. Overall, energy prices fell 6.4% between December 2013 and December 2014, following a 0.6% annualized rate of increase in November. Excluding energy, the annualized Consumer Price Index rose 2.2% in December, unchanged from November. Food prices rose 3.7% in the 12...
Read MoreBuilding Permits, November 2014, published January 9
Municipalities issued $6.6 billion worth of building permits in November, down 13.8% from October and 2.7% lower than in November 2013. Three provinces reported an increase in permits over a year ago. The largest increase was recorded in Manitoba (+57.9%) followed by Nova Scotia (+10.6%). The largest year-over-year losses were recorded in New Brunswick (-43.3%) followed by Newfoundland and Labrador (-35.4%) and Prince Edward Island (-34.3%). Ontario recorded a 22.4% annualized decline, while Quebec’s gain was 3.5%. Builders took out residential building permits worth $4.4...
Read MoreLabour Force Survey, December 2014, published January 9
Employment in December was virtually unchanged from November. The unemployment rate was 6.6%, the same as in November. Construction employment was up 0.9% from November while manufacturing employment was down 1.0% from a month earlier. In December, employment stood at 18.0 million, up 1.0% from December 2013. Full-time employment grew by 53,500 from November, while part-time employment decreased by 57,700 from the previous month. Full-time employment was up by 190,300 from December 2013, while part-time declined by 4,500 over the same period. Employment over the past year grew in six...
Read MoreWholesale Trade, October 2014, published December 17
Wholesalers sold $54.2 billion worth of goods and services in October, up 0.1% from September and 7.5% higher than in October 2013. Excluding the automotive sector, wholesale sales were up 7.4% from October 2013. In terms of volume, wholesale sales were down 0.1% in October from September. Annualized wholesale sales grew in all provinces. Newfoundland and Labrador (+23.8%) led the way, followed by Saskatchewan (+12.1%) and Manitoba (+11.2%). Quebec’s wholesale sales were up 1.9% from October 2013 while Ontario’s annualized gain was 9.4%. Wholesalers’ inventories in October...
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