Canadian Economy Expands In November, But Half Of Industries Have Shrunk In Past Year

Canada's economy expanded by 0.3 per cent in November, Statistics Canada reported Friday, roughly in line with economists' expectations.

That gain followed a flat reading in October and a 0.5 per cent contraction in September. Canada's economy has showed significant growth in only four of the last 12 monthly readings from StatsCan.

Overall, Canada's economy hasn't grown in a year. It was almost exactly the same size in November, 2015, as it was in November, 2014 -- up only 0.1 per cent in that time.

While both services industries and goods-producing industries grew in November, the breakdown by industry shows nearly half of the sectors tracked by StatsCan have shrunk over the past year. Of 20 sectors, nine have seen negative growth year over year.

Not surprisingly, mining, oil and gas took the biggest hit. That sector was 6.4 per cent smaller in November than it was a year earlier. Construction (down 3.6 per cent), manufacturing (down 1.1 per cent) and utilities (down 2.8 per cent) have also been shrinking.

Economists note Canada is shifting ever more towards a service economy, and the latest data bears that out.

While goods-producing industries shrank 2.5 per cent over the past year, the service sector expanded 1.4 per cent, led by arts, entertainment and recreation (up 3.4 per cent), transportation and warehousing (up 2.3 per cent) and real estate, rental and leasing (up 3.2 per cent).

Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.ca/
Author: Daniel Tencer