The Canadian economy grew 1.7 per cent in the third quarter, a significant deceleration from the over 4 per cent growth recorded in the previous quarter. Growth was led by gains in household spending while exports declined and business investment slowed. Despite the second half slowdown, the Canadian economy is still on track to grow more than 3 per cent this year, which would make it the envy of most advanced economies around the world.

While the economy slowed in the third quarter, employment in November surged. Canadian employment increased by 80,000 jobs while the the national unemployment rate fell 0.4 points to 5.9 per cent, the lowest rate since February 2008. In the twelve months to November, employment in Canada is up 2.1 per cent, or 390,000 jobs. In BC, a string of four straight months of declining job growth was broken as the province added 18,000 new jobs in November. Over the past twelve months, the level of employment in BC is up 3.8 per cent. The provincial unemployment rate ticked 0.1 points lower to 4.8 per cent.  

Copyright British Columbia Real Estate Association. Reprinted with permission.