The Daily Friday, March 12, 2021
Press Release
Labour Force Survey, February 2021
Employment increased by 259,000 (+1.4%) in February, after falling by 266,000 over the previous two months.
National balance sheet and financial flow accounts, fourth quarter 2020
National net worth, the sum of national wealth and Canada’s net foreign asset position, increased $602.9 billion from the previous quarter to $13,776.7 billion in the fourth quarter.
Industrial capacity utilization rates, fourth quarter 2020
Canadian industries operated at 79.2% of their production capacity in the fourth quarter of 2020, up from 77.4% in the previous quarter. This fourth quarter gain was largely attributable to increases in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction sector and the construction sector. However, the capacity utilization rate in most industries remained below pre-pandemic levels.
Weekly update: Canadian Economic Dashboard and COVID-19
The Canadian Economic Dashboard and COVID-19 presents selected indicators to help monitor the impact of the pandemic on economic activity in Canada.
Wholesale trade, January 2021
Sales of wholesale products rose 4.0% in January to $69.2 billion, the eighth increase in the past nine months.
New motor vehicle sales, January 2021
New motor vehicle sales data for Canada and the provinces are now available for January.
Strong growth in the engineering services industry resumes in 2019
In 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the engineering services industry experienced renewed strong growth, reporting operating revenue of $31.8 billion—an increase of 12.6% over 2018. This marks the first time in four years that the industry has surpassed the $30 billion mark. The engineering services industry has strong ties to the oil and gas extraction industry and, since 2014, with investment in the energy sector cut by more than half, demand for engineering services had not rebounded significantly. However, in 2019, with major projects underway—particularly the development of the emerging liquefied natural gas industry—the engineering services industry in British Columbia experienced strong growth in operating revenue (+32.9%). In the same year, operating revenue turned around in Alberta (+17.4%). Outside the oil and gas extraction and mining sector, investment in public infrastructure such as public transit and other transportation-related projects continued to support demand for engineering services in Ontario and Quebec, as it had in previous years. The industry’s 2019 operating revenue grew by 6.0% in Ontario and 5.9% in Quebec.
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