Analysis

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Real gross domestic product was unchanged in September, after edging down 0.1% in August. Declines were recorded in wholesale trade, mining and oil and gas extraction, as well as in the arts and entertainment sector and utilities. The declines were offset by increases in the finance, insurance and real estate sector, the public sector, and professional and transportation services.

Wholesale trade fell 1.1% in September, mainly as a result of declines in the wholesaling of personal and household goods as well as motor vehicles and parts.

Mining and oil and gas extraction declined 0.4% in September. Metal ore mining decreased 3.3% as a result of declines in output at copper, nickel, lead and zinc mines as well as at gold and silver ore mines. Non-metallic mineral mining declined 2.1% due to decreases in output at potash mines.

Oil and gas extraction (-0.3%) decreased for a fifth consecutive month, as a decline in crude petroleum production outweighed an increase in natural gas extraction. Maintenance activities at some crude petroleum facilities affected crude oil output in September. In contrast, support activities for mining and oil extraction rose 2.5% as a result of an increase in drilling and rigging services.

Construction grew 0.1% in September. An increase in residential building construction more than offset the declines in non-residential building and engineering construction. Following four consecutive monthly declines, the output of real estate agents and brokers rose 3.7% in September, as activity in the home resale market increased.

The finance and insurance sector rose 0.2% in September on the strength of increased volume of trading on the stock exchanges. Professional services grew 0.2% mainly due to increased legal services.

The public sector (education, health and public administration combined) edged up 0.1% as a result of an increase in education and health services and, to a lesser extent, public administration.

The arts and entertainment sector declined 2.6% in September, partly due to a labour disruption which resulted in the cancellation of pre-season games in professional hockey.

Manufacturing rose 0.1% in September, as the 0.6% increase recorded by manufacturers of durable goods was partially offset by lower manufacturing of non durable goods (-0.7%).

Gross domestic product by industry, Q3 2012

The output of service industries increased 0.4% in the third quarter while goods production declined 0.6%. The public sector, the finance and insurance sector, utilities, transportation and retail trade were the main contributors to growth in the quarter. The mining and oil and gas extraction sector (-2.0%) and, to a much lesser extent, manufacturing and construction were the main sources of decline.

Oil and gas extraction fell 1.4% as both crude oil and natural gas production declined. Support activities for mining and oil and gas extraction fell 6.8% as both drilling and rigging services declined. Mining excluding oil and gas extraction was also down (-2.8%) in the third quarter as production declines at potash and copper, nickel, lead and zinc mines offset increases in coal mining.

The public sector (education, health and public administration) advanced 0.4% as increases in education and health care offset the decline in public administration.

The finance and insurance sector rose 1.0% with gains in all major industries (banks, insurance carriers and security brokerages).

Utilities were up 1.9% as electric power generation rose 1.9% following three quarterly declines, while natural gas distribution (+2.9%) continued to advance.

Retail trade grew 0.5% on the strength of health and personal care stores, and new car dealers. Wholesale trade was unchanged in the third quarter,

Manufacturing edged down 0.1% as non-durable production declined (-0.3%) and durable goods production was unchanged. The declines in primary metal, printing and related support activities, food and paper manufacturing outweighed the increases in transportation equipment and beverage and tobacco manufacturing.

Construction activity decreased (-0.2%) in the third quarter, following four quarters of growth. There were declines in engineering and non residential building construction while residential construction increased. The output of real estate agents and brokers fell 7.2% as activity in the home resale market decreased.