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Canadian Economic Calendar

February 2012
 

DATE	STATISTIC	FOR	CURRENT MONTH	PREVIOUS MONTH
Friday, February 03, 2012	Labour Force Survey: 7:00am	Jan	Employment was virtually unchanged in January, and the unemployment rate edged up 0.1 percentage points to 7.6% as more people searched for work. Compared with 12 months earlier, employment rose by 129,000 (+0.7%), with most of the growth occurring in the first six months of this period.	Following two months of declines, employment rose slightly in December, up 18,000. The unemployment rate edged up to 7.5% as more people participated in the labour market. Over the past 12 months, employment growth totalled 1.2% (+199,000), with nearly all of the gains in the first half of the year.
Tuesday, February 07, 2012	Building Permits: 8:30am	Dec	Municipalities issued building permits worth $6.8 billion in December, up 11.1% from November. This is the highest level since June 2007. The advance in December was due primarily to an increase in multi-family dwellings in Ontario and commercial buildings in Alberta.	The total value of building permits decreased 3.6% to $6.1 billion in November, following an 11.6% increase in October. A decline in the non-residential sector, particularly in Ontario, more than offset gains in the value of residential permits.
Wednesday, February 08, 2012	Housing Starts: 8:15am	Dec	Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the pace of housing starts slowed slightly in January, mainly because of sharp decreases in Quebec and Atlantic Canada. The housing agency says the seasonally-adjusted annual start rate was 197,900 units in January, down from 199,900 units in December.	The seasonally-adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 200,000 units in December, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). This is up 14,600 units in November.
Thursday, February 09, 2012	New Housing Price Index: 8:30am	Dec	The New Housing Price Index (NHPI) rose 0.1% in December, following a 0.3% increase in November.	The New Housing Price Index (NHPI) rose 0.3% in November, following a 0.2% increase in October.
Friday, February 10, 2012	Canadian international merchandise trade: 8:30am	Dec	Canada's merchandise exports rose 4.5% and imports edged up 0.8%. As a result, Canada's trade surplus rose from $1.2 billion in November to $2.7 billion in December.	Canada's merchandise exports increased 3.2%, while imports declined 0.8%. As a result, Canada's trade balance with the world went from a deficit of $487 million in October to a surplus of $1.1 billion in November.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012	New motor vehicle sales: 8:30am	Dec	The number of new motor vehicles sold declined for a second consecutive month, down 3.0% in December to 133,146 units. Weaker sales in Ontario and Alberta accounted for the decrease.	The number of new motor vehicles sold in November decreased 1.0% to 137,640 units, partially offsetting gains registered in September and October. Sales fell for both trucks and passenger cars.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012	CREAstats - MLS sales: 8:30am	Jan	The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) said national resale housing activity retreated 4.5% in January 2012 from the strong finish reported for December 2011. This marks the first monthly decline in national activity since August 2011 and the biggest monthly decline since July 2010.	The Canadian Real Estate Association reported this morning that national resale housing activity posted a 1.8% increase from November to December 2011, the fourth straight monthly increase. Moreover, annual activity totaled 456,749 sales in 2011, up 2.2% from 2010.
Thursday, February 16, 2012	Monthly Survey of Manufacturing: 8:30am	Dec	Manufacturing sales advanced 0.6% in December to $49.9 billion, the fifth increase in six months. The transportation equipment industry led the gain.	Manufacturing sales rose 2.0% in November to $49.6 billion, the fourth increase in five months. The gains reflected higher sales in the machinery, petroleum and coal product, and motor vehicle industries.
Thursday, February 16, 2012	Canada's international transactions in securities: 8:30am	Dec	Foreign investment in Canadian securities slowed to $7.4 billion in December, half the amount recorded in November but still close to the average monthly investment in 2011. Meanwhile, Canadians acquired $2.8 billion of foreign securities in December, led by bonds.	Foreign investment in all types of Canadian securities strengthened in November with non-residents adding $15.0 billion to their holdings, the largest such inflow of funds since May. Canadian investors purchased $2.8 billion of foreign securities, evenly split between stocks and bonds. For the 11 months ending in November, foreign investment in Canadian securities was $88.2 billion compared with $14.7 billion of Canadian investment in foreign securities.
Friday, February 17, 2012	Leading Indicators: 8:30am	Jan	The composite leading index increased 0.7% in January, following an identical gain in the previous month. This was the seventh consecutive increase in the index. The increase was concentrated in manufacturing, housing and services employment, and was offset by declines in durable goods sales and equity prices.	The composite leading index increased 0.8% in December, following a 0.9% gain the previous month. The increase was broad-based with eight of the 10 components rising.
Friday, February 17, 2012	Employment Insurance: 8:30am	Dec	The number of people receiving regular Employment Insurance benefits edged up 4,200 (+0.8%) to 544,700 in December. The number of beneficiaries remained relatively stable during the final quarter of the year, but was down 109,400 (-16.7%)	In November, the number of people receiving regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits totalled 539,000, virtually unchanged from the previous month.
Friday, February 17, 2012	Consumer Price Index: 7:00am	Jan	Consumer prices rose 2.5% in the 12 months to January, led by increases for food and energy. The January rise followed a 2.3% increase in December.	Consumer prices rose 2.3% in the 12 months to December, following a 2.9% increase in November. The 0.6 percentage point difference was led by a slower increase in gasoline prices as well as declines for the purchase of passenger vehicles. A slower year-over-year increase for food was also a factor.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012	Retail Trade: 8:30am	Dec	Retail sales edged down 0.2% in December, following four consecutive monthly increases.	Retail sales in November rose for a fourth consecutive month, increasing 0.3% to $38.7 billion. Gains were reported in seven of 11 subsectors, representing 65% of total retail sales. In volume terms, sales were also up for a fourth month in a row, increasing 0.5%.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012	Wholesale trade: 8:30am	Dec	Wholesale sales rose 0.9% in December to $49.6 billion, mainly as a result of higher sales in the motor vehicle and parts, and the food, beverage and tobacco products subsectors.	Wholesale sales fell 0.4% to $49.0 billion in November, following six months of consecutive increases. Lower sales in the agricultural supplies industry and the motor vehicle industry contributed to the decline.
Thursday, February 23, 2012	Payroll employment, earnings and hours: 8:30am	Dec	---	In November, average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $883.96, virtually unchanged from the previous month. On a year-over-year basis, earnings rose 2.2%.
Thursday, March 01, 2012	GDP: 8:30am	Dec	---	Real gross domestic product edged down 0.1% in November, following no growth in October and monthly increases from June to September. Most of the November decline was accounted for by lower output in the energy sector.
Thursday, March 01, 2012	Industrial Product Price Index: 8:30am	Jan	---	From November to December, the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) declined 0.7%. This decline was mainly the result of lower petroleum and metals prices.
Thursday, March 01, 2012	Raw Materials Price Index: 8:30am	Jan	---	From November to December, the Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI) was down 2.4%. This decline was mainly the result of lower petroleum and metals prices.