Economy rising 10.7%, retailing among major gainers
24 Mar '06
4 min read
Finance, retailing, transportation and mining also plan large gains. Transportation equipment accounts for over one-third of manufacturing investment in Ontario.
Firms in Quebec plan the smallest increase in capital spending of the major provinces, up 3.5% after falling in 2005. Manufacturers cut investment in both years. This reflects the recent completion of major smelting and refinery projects.
These declines were only partly offset by modest gains in mining and utilities and sluggish spending by services.
The 7% increase in British Columbia was led by transport and trade. This overcame surprising weakness in mining and oil and gas, despite high prices, and cutbacks in lumber.
Investment plans were weak overall in the Atlantic region. Newfoundland, posted a decline, after the completion of major projects in mining and offshore oil last year.
New Brunswick was hamstrung by steep cuts in its forestry sector. Nova Scotia was the lone bright spot, buoyed by energy-related investments in utilities and manufacturing.
Job growth continued in February and the unemployment rate equaled its record low. Manufacturing jobs recovered about one-third of January's large decline, but employment in this sector, however, remained about 5% (or over 100,000) below February 2005's level.
The total decline in manufacturing employment since the peak in early 2003 is currently almost 10%. This overall loss approaches the declines in 1981 and 1982 and 1989 to 1991. But unlike those two recessions, manufacturing output has continued to rise over the last two years.
marketing@alchempro.com
