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Gross domestic product by industry, April 2015

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Released: 2015-06-30

Real GDP by industry

April 2015

-0.1% 

(monthly change)

Real gross domestic product edged down 0.1% in April, the fourth consecutive monthly decline. A decrease in the output of goods-producing industries outweighed an increase in service industries.

Goods production fell 0.8% in April, down for a fourth consecutive month, primarily as a result of a contraction in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction. Decreases were also recorded in manufacturing, utilities and construction. In contrast, the agriculture and forestry sector increased.

The output of service-providing industries grew 0.3% in April, a third consecutive monthly increase. The gain in April was led by wholesale trade. There were also increases in the public sector (education, health and public administration combined), accommodation and food services and professional services. On the other hand, there were notable declines in the finance and insurance sector and retail trade.

Chart 1  Chart 1: Real gross domestic product edges down in April
Real gross domestic product edges down in April

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction contracts again

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction contracted 2.6% in April, down for a sixth consecutive month.

Oil and gas extraction fell 3.4%, mainly as a result of a decline in the non-conventional oil extraction industry, which experienced maintenance shutdowns and production difficulties in April. Conventional crude petroleum and natural gas extraction was also down.

Chart 2  Chart 2: Oil and gas extraction falls in April
Oil and gas extraction falls in April

Mining and quarrying (excluding oil and gas extraction) declined 3.4% in April. Notable decreases were recorded in copper, nickel, lead and zinc ore mining, iron ore mining as well as coal mining.

After falling for four consecutive months, support activities for mining and oil and gas extraction rose 9.9% in April, as both rigging and drilling services advanced.

Wholesale trade rises while retail trade falls

After increasing 0.9% in March, wholesale trade rose 1.6% in April. The gain in April was a result of increases in machinery, equipment and supplies, motor vehicle and parts as well as miscellaneous wholesaling (which includes agricultural supplies). In contrast, the wholesaling of food, beverage and tobacco was down.

Retail trade fell 0.2% in April, following increases of 1.5% in February and 0.3% in March. Declines were notable at food and beverage stores, electronics and appliance stores as well as health and personal care stores. Conversely, increases occurred at motor vehicle and parts dealers as well as clothing and clothing accessories stores.

Manufacturing output declines

Manufacturing output declined 0.2%, down for a fourth consecutive month.

Non-durable goods manufacturing declined 0.3%, primarily because of decreases in food and paper manufacturing. In contrast, beverage and tobacco, textile, clothing and leather as well as plastic and rubber products manufacturing were up.

Durable-goods manufacturing edged down 0.1% in April. Machinery, transportation equipment and, to a lesser extent, miscellaneous manufacturing were down. On the other hand, gains were notable in the manufacturing of computer and electronic products, primary metal as well as furniture and related products.

Construction edges down

Construction edged down 0.1% in April as an increase in repair construction was more than offset by declines in residential and non-residential building and engineering construction.

The output of real estate agents and brokers increased 5.4%, up for a third consecutive month.

Finance and insurance sector falls

After increasing for four consecutive months, the finance and insurance sector fell 0.6% in April. Financial investment services were notably down in April, following increases in February and March. Banking and insurance services were also down in April.

Other industries

Utilities declined 0.7% in April, after falling 1.7% in March. Natural gas distribution as well as electricity generation, transmission and distribution were both down in April.

The public sector (education, health and public administration combined) increased 0.2% as education and health services as well as public administration increased.

Accommodation and food services were up 1.2% in April, mainly as a result of an increase in the food services and drinking places industry.

Chart 3  Chart 3: Main industrial sectors' contribution to the percent change in gross domestic product, April 2015
Main industrial sectors' contribution to the percent change in gross domestic product, April 2015


  Note to readers

The monthly gross domestic product (GDP) by industry data at basic prices are chained volume estimates with 2007 as the reference year. This means that the data for each industry and each aggregate are obtained from a chained volume index multiplied by the industry's value added in 2007. The monthly data are benchmarked to annually chained Fisher volume indexes of GDP obtained from the constant-price input-output tables up to the latest input-output tables year (2011).

For the period starting with January 2012, the data are derived by chaining a fixed-weight Laspeyres volume index to the prior period. The fixed weights are 2011 industry prices.

This approach makes the monthly GDP by industry data more comparable with the expenditure-based GDP data, chained quarterly.

All data in this release are seasonally adjusted. For more information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.

Revisions

With this release of monthly GDP by industry, revisions have been made back to January 2014.

Each month, newly available administrative and survey data across various industries in the economy are integrated and result in statistical revisions. Updated and revised administrative data (including taxation statistics), new information provided by respondents to industry surveys, and standard changes to seasonal adjustment calculations are incorporated with each release.

For more information about monthly national GDP by industry, see the System of macroeconomic accounts module on our website.

Next release

Data on GDP by industry for May will be released on July 31.

Contact information

For more information, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca).

To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Allan Tomas (613-790-6570), Industry Accounts Division.

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