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Following an unprecedented boom in building and pre-Olympic preparations in general, the Chinese economy appears to be slowing down. This observation is based on the recent significant retreat in two key indicators of Chinese economic activity, the Baltic Dry Index and the China Manufacturing PMI.
Join the Virtual Conference on Field Mobility and Productivity, Green Construction, BIM and Safety from Reed Construction Data, Vela Systems, Motion Computing and AT&T.
Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in Canada, quarter to quarter at an annualized rate, was only 0.3% in the most recent April to June period. This follows on the heels of a -0.8% figure in the first quarter and +0.8% in the fourth quarter of last year. In other words, the economy has been stalled for the last nine months. What might have been most disappointing for Canada was that not one of the three major investment categories recorded an increase in the latest quarter.
A first glance at Statistics Canada’s second-quarter GDP report card suggests the economy earned a D minus. This is based on the fact that inflation -adjusted growth was a mere 0.3% quarter over quarter at annual rates. Moreover, this marginal
second-quarter increase followed a weaker than previously reported 0.8% drop in the first quarter.
Victoria B.C. is clearly the place to be these days if you wish to be gainfully employed. That city is leading the country both in terms of high job growth (+4.7%) and low unemployment rate (only 3.2%). Overall, among all the major urban centres in Canada, the West is continuing to shine in terms of low unemployment rates. Eight of the “top ten” cities in terms of low unemployment rates are in western Canada. In terms of job creation, however, the East is starting to make some inroads.
According to Statistics Canada’s July labour report, employment growth in Canada has now eased off from its peak rate in November of last year, at +2.7%, to about half that level, +1.4%. This is the lowest year-over-year rate of increase in jobs since September 2005. There is one big concern on Canada’s jobs front, based on the latest month’s numbers. There was a downshift in employment of 55,000 jobs in July.
Heading into 2009, there are signs that the Canadian economy is experiencing more stress due to the direct and indirect effects of the slowdown in the United States.
As it heads into the second half of 2008, the Manitoba economy definitely has a lot of momentum.
Slowing sales of existing homes will probably cause renovation spending to cool in 2008 and 2009 following an unprecedented eight years of sustained strong growth.
There are three things in life that are certain. The first two are death and taxes. And the third? At some point, the U.S. economy will come roaring back. But are we there yet? Probably not. Let’s review the current states of the U.S. and Canadian economies.
