Gross domestic product by industry, May 2012

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Real gross domestic product edged up 0.1% in May, after increasing 0.3% in April. The output of service industries rose 0.1% in May on the strength of retail trade and the finance and insurance sector. Accommodation and food services, and wholesale trade were also up. Transportation services and the arts and entertainment sector, however, declined. Goods production was unchanged in May as the increase in mining and oil and gas extraction was offset by declines in manufacturing and, to a lesser extent, construction.

Chart 1 
Real gross domestic product edges up in May
Chart 1: Real gross domestic product edges up in May

Chart description: Real gross domestic product edges up in May

CSV version of the chart

Retail trade increases and wholesale trade edges up

Retail trade rose 0.7% in May after declining 0.9% in April. Increases were recorded at food and beverage stores, clothing and clothing accessories stores, and gasoline stations. In contrast, retailing activity at motor vehicle and parts dealers and at health and personal care stores decreased.

Wholesale trade edged up 0.1% in May, the sixth consecutive monthly advance. Wholesaling of machinery and equipment, of food, beverage and tobacco products and of motor vehicles and parts increased. Conversely, wholesaling of personal and household goods, and farm products declined.

Finance and insurance sector activity increases

The finance and insurance sector rose 0.5%, with increases in the volume of trading on the stock exchanges and in personal lending. The output of insurance carriers was also up.

Mining and oil and gas extraction rises again in May

Mining and oil and gas extraction increased 0.6% in May after rising 2.0% in April. Oil and gas extraction advanced 1.5% in May as crude petroleum production continued to rise after maintenance and production difficulties in February and March. Natural gas production was also up in May, and storage levels of natural gas declined for the second consecutive month. However, support activities for mining and oil and gas extraction fell 8.7% as drilling and rigging services decreased.

Mining excluding oil and gas extraction grew 1.0% in May, as increased output at potash mines offset declines in metal ore and coal mining.

Chart 2 
Mining and oil and gas extraction up in May
Chart 2: Mining and oil and gas extraction up in May

Chart description: Mining and oil and gas extraction up in May

CSV version of the chart

Manufacturing declines

Manufacturing declined 0.5% in May. Durable goods production decreased 0.6%, mainly as a result of lower manufacturing of machinery, computer and electronics products, and primary metal. Manufacturing of non-durable goods (-0.3%) also fell as declines in food products and refineries more than offset increases in clothing and paper products production.

Construction down

Construction was down 0.2% in May as decreases in residential building and, to a lesser extent, non-residential building construction outweighed the increase in engineering construction and repair work.

The output of real estate agents and brokers declined 4.8% after increasing for three consecutive months, as activity in the home resale market decreased in May.

Other industries

Transportation and warehousing services fell 0.5%, mainly as a result of a decline in rail services, which were impacted by a strike in late May. The arts, entertainment and recreation sector also decreased, while accommodation and food services were up.

Chart 3 
Main industrial sectors' contribution to the percent change in gross domestic product, May 2012
Chart 3: Main industrial sectors' contribution to the percent change in gross domestic product, May 2012

Chart description: Main industrial sectors' contribution to the percent change in gross domestic product, May 2012

CSV version of the chart

Note to readers

The monthly gross domestic product (GDP) by industry data at basic prices are chained volume estimates with 2002 as the reference year. This means that the data for each industry and each aggregate are obtained from a chained volume index multiplied by the industry's value added in 2002. For the 1997 to 2008 period, the monthly data are benchmarked to annually chained Fisher volume indexes of GDP obtained from the constant-price input-output tables.

For the period starting with January 2009, the data are derived by chaining a fixed-weight Laspeyres volume index to the prior period. The fixed weights are 2008 industry prices.

This approach makes the monthly GDP by industry data more comparable with the expenditure-based GDP data, chained quarterly.

All data in this release are seasonally adjusted. For more information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonal adjustment and identifying economic trends.

Revisions

With this release of monthly GDP by industry, revisions have been made back to January 2011. For more information about monthly GDP by industry, see the National economic accounts module on our website.

Available without charge in CANSIM: table CANSIM table379-0027.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number survey number1301.

The May 2012 issue of Gross Domestic Product by Industry, Vol. 26, no. 5 (Catalogue number15-001-X, free), is now available from the Key resource module of our website under Publications.

Data on gross domestic product by industry for June will be released on August 31.

For more information, or to order data, contact Statistics Canada's National Contact Centre (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 613-951-8116; infostats@statcan.gc.ca).

To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Allan Tomas (613-951-9277), Industry Accounts Division.