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Our economics team examines the latest statistics on employment, trade, consumer spending, the energy industry and other economic drivers to provide insight into what is happening in Alberta and where our economy is heading.
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Recent Owls
We need to diversify the economy part 3
Economic diversification is not as easy as some make it out to be and it doesn’t happen overnight.
We need to diversify the economy part 2
The fear that we will run out of oil and gas has been replaced by the fear that efforts to reduce carbon emissions will stymie the sector’s future.
We need to diversify the economy part 1
Mention the Alberta economy and two things are sure to come up: the importance of oil and gas and the need to “diversify” the economy.
Downtown office space going into the pandemic
For the first three months of 2020 before the pandemic was in full effect, the vacancy rate in Calgary’s downtown was sitting at 26.5 per cent.
The oil price rollercoaster
With amusement parks closed and summer fairs cancelled, there is at least one rollercoaster ride still open. Unfortunately, it’s the price of oil.
Charitable sector struggling
The results of a recent Imagine Canada survey of Canadian charities show that the pandemic has eroded revenue, forced layoffs and reduced volunteering.
Food prices rise in April
As expected, the overall inflation rate in April fell in both Alberta and Canada as a whole.
Manufacturing muted in March
The March decline in Alberta's manufacturing sales is expected to continue into April
On the bright side: At least mortgage rates are low
The rate for a conventional one-year mortgage hit 21.25 per cent in the fall of 1981 compared to under 4.0 per cent today.
Canadians stocked up on flour, hand sanitizer and alcohol
Grocery store sales in Canada peaked during the second week of March at 46 per cent above where they were a year earlier.
Ouch! April job numbers show impact of COVID-19
If we include Albertans who want to work but are not in the labour force, the unemployment rate would be a whopping 20.4 per cent.
Toss the water but keep the baby
It’s far from perfect, but our economic system has delivered a higher standard of living for a larger portion of the population than anything that has come before it.
