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Business startups soaring, study shows

Business startups have soared by 67 per cent in British Columbia's mainland southwest since 2001, according to an economic study released Thursday. Source.

Jobless rate will fall to record low next year, OECD says

Canada's jobless rate will fall to a record low next year of six per cent, an international economic think-tank said Tuesday. Source.

B.C. Snapshot

B.C. records the highest drop in E.I. Benefits recipients in last 12 months. Source.

Energy sector wages soar

As the energy sector booms in Western Canada, workers in the oil and gas sector are commanding 80-per-cent more in wages than the average Canadian employee, a gap that has widened more than 20 per cent in the past decade, a new study shows. Statistics Canada reported Wednesday that total employment in all oil and gas industries was roughly 298,000 in 2006, a 22-per-cent increase from 1997, slightly faster than the average of 20 per cent for the economy as a whole. Source.

Canadians net worth nearing $5 Trillion

Continuing increases in the value of their homes and in their investments here and abroad have boosted the net worth of Canadians to a record of nearly $5 trillion, Statistics Canada reported Friday.  The agency says the value of the difference between what Canadians -- including individuals, businesses and governments -- own, and what they owe to foreigners, rose 2.7 per cent, or $131 billion, in the final quarter of last year to $4.9 trillion.  That works out to $150,500 for every man, woman and child in the country. 

However, households continued to accumulate mortgage and consumer credit debt.  "As a result, household debt continued to outpace personal disposable income," Statistics Canada said, noting that households currently carry about $1.10 in debt for every dollar of their disposable income.  Article here.

Narrowing the income gap

According to a survey released earlier this week by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, 86 per cent of Canadians declare that the government should do more to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor. What's so beautifully Canadian about that response is that we want the government to do something -- ignoring the fact that none of us has to wait for the government to take action because there is nothing stopping us from donating a proportion of our assets to the poor that is commensurate with how important we think the issue is.

The only way to truly help the poor is through strong economic growth and an education structure that helps everyone take advantage of it. Just this week, StatsCan released numbers showing that Alberta's strong growth and the related labour shortage has forced average hourly wages to over $21 an hour. Anyone able to work can get work in both B.C. and Alberta, which will raise standards of living well beyond any increase in government hand-outs.  Full article here.

Unemployment slips to 6.1%

Thanks to the addition of 14,000 new jobs in February, Canada’s unemployment rate dipped to 6.1 per cent, down from 6.2 the month before, Statistics Canada reported on Friday.  Employment has been on the rise since August 2006 with average monthly gains of 42,000.

A quick look at February unemployment (previous month in brackets):

Unemployment rate: 6.1 per cent (6.2)
Number unemployed: 1,084,000 (1,096,500)
Number working: 16,743,500 (16,729,300)
Youth (15-24 years) unemployment: 11.0 per cent (11.7)
Men (25 plus) unemployment: 5.3 per cent (5.3)
Women (25 plus) unemployment: 4.9 per cent (4.9)

Here's what happened provincially (previous month in brackets):

- Newfoundland 14.3 (15.4)
- Prince Edward Island 10.1 (10.7)
- Nova Scotia 7.4 (7.8)
- New Brunswick 6.9 (8.1)
- Quebec 7.8 (7.7)
- Ontario 6.3 (6.4)
- Manitoba 4.3 (4.6)
- Saskatchewan 4.0 (4.1)
- Alberta 3.5 (3.3)
- British Columbia 4.0 (4.3)

Full article here.

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BC's January building permits hit

Builders in British Columbia took out just over $1 billion worth of building permits in January, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday, offering some support to the expectations for high levels of construction in 2007.  The figure is no record, Statistics Canada analyst Etienne Saint-Pierre said. B.C.'s all-time high remains $1.28 billion in permits issued last November.  Full article here.

Canadian economy strengthened at year end

Statistics Canada says the country's economy strengthened at the end of 2006 with gross domestic product rising 0.4 per cent in December, meeting economists' expectations. The economy also grew at an annualized rate of 1.4 per cent in the fourth quarter, slightly above economists' forecasts. Growth in the U.S. economy edged up to 2.2 per cent in the same period. The agency said Friday that the pace of economic activity eased slightly in the final quarter while GDP - total goods and services produced in Canada - advanced 2.7 per cent over the full year. Growth in December was largely driven by higher personal expenditure and the strengthening of exports. Both the service and the goods-producing industries increased, with manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade posting the strongest results. Source.

Construction, financial services and tourism-related industries also advanced.

Statistics Canada said gains in December were partly offset by losses in the energy sector, and in the agriculture and forestry industries.