Canadian Housing Starts Decline

Canadian housing starts fell by 14.8% in July to 186,500 units, down from 215,900 units in June, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Analysts expected 210,000 new starts. However, the CMHC report showed that most of the decline of new residential construction occurred in Ontario, but economists believe the decline was due to a higher than normal rainfall that caused construction to stall. Reportonbusiness.com – Aug. 11, 2008

Consumer Confidence Up

A survey released by the Conference Board of Canada reported that Canadian consumers felt slightly more confident in July than in June. The consumer confidence index increased to 81 in July, up from 79.6 in June. The monthly survey is based on 2,000 telephone interviews. Respondents who believed their families were better off financially from six months ago ro

se to 20.3% in July, up from 18.5% in June; families who said they were worse off fell to 20.2% in July, down from 23.7% in June; and 24% of the respondents thought their families would be better off financially six months from now. ReutersCa.com – Aug. 8, 2008

Canada GDP Shrank

The gross domestic product (GDP) in Canada fell by 0.1% to C$1.23 trillion in May, according to Statistics Canada. This is the fourth decline in six months. Economists had predicted a 0.2% gain. Analysts attributed part of the decline to slowing natural gas extraction and a drop in car production. Bloomberg.com – July 31, 2008 [Back to Top]


July 2008

The national unemployment rate fell to 6.1% in July, down from 6.2% in June. Part-time employment saw the most loss. Manufacturing; business, building and other support services; and educational services reported losses to their payrolls. Click here for the most recent employment report from Statistics Canada.

Major Industry Employment:

• Construction: + 10,300
• Manufacturing: - 32,300
• Trade: - 19,300
• Transportation & Warehousing: + 5,700
• Finance, Insurance, Real Estate & Leasing: + 2,900
• Professional, Scientific & Technical Services: - 15,300
• Business, Building & Support Services: - 30,100
• Educational Services: - 27,400
• Healthcare & Social Assistance: + 14,300
• Information, Culture & Recreation: - 2,200
• Accommodation & Food Services: + 22,400
• Public Administration: + 6,000

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Economic Trends is a publication of Express Services, Inc., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. © 2008.