Statistics Canada says that retail trade activity jumped 4.5% in February. That’s after two months of decreases, as 10 of the 12 subsectors were up. In February, many provinces lifted or eased the lockdown measures that had largely contributed to the sector’s declines in December and January. Stats Canada says that stores more dependent on in-store traffic experienced the largest rebound in activity.
The biggest increases were seen in clothing and clothing accessories stores (+23.5%), and in sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores (+28.8%).
Real gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.4% in February, following 0.7% growth in January. This 10th consecutive monthly increase continued to offset the steepest drops on record in Canadian economic activity observed in March and April 2020. However, total economic activity was about 2% below the level observed in February 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction declined 2.8% in February as two of the three subsectors contracted.
The manufacturing sector contracted 0.9% in February, following 1.5% growth in January, continuing the sequence of increases alternating with small declines seen since September 2020. Both durable and non-durable manufacturing were down in February.
