- New mandatory public health measures in effect April 6.
- Get vaccinated: Everyone 55+. Many 16+ with health conditions. Walk-ins for AstraZeneca.
Current issue date
Alberta Activity Index
Recovery picks up momentum to begin 2021
- Provincial economic activity starts the year on solid footing.
- The Alberta Activity Index (AAX) was up 2.5% month-over-month in January, following a 1.0% uptick in December.
- The surge was a result of broad-based increases as 7 out of the 9 sub-components were up in the month. Labour market activity rebounded in January as employment was resilient despite public health measures, while general business and household activity continued to gain momentum. Meanwhile, improving rigs drilling and higher oil sands output lifted energy sector activity to post its first annual increase since March 2020.
- With the strong increase in January, the AAX was down only 0.4% from January 2020 and stood 0.8% shy of its pre-pandemic February 2020 level.
Chart: Year-over-year change in Alberta Activity Index and real GDP
(to January 2021)

Data table
The following file is available in the Open Government Portal:
- Alberta Activity Index Data Table (January 1981 to January 2021)
About the Alberta Activity Index
Developed by Alberta Treasury Board and Finance, the Alberta Activity Index (AAX) is a weighted average of 9 monthly indicators:
- employment
- average weekly earnings
- retail trade
- wholesale trade
- manufacturing shipments
- new truck sales
- housing starts
- rigs drilling
- oil production
For more information on the AAX, please see the Introducing the Alberta Activity Index inFocus from the April 2017 Economic Trends (PDF, 281 KB).
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Contact
Siddhartha Bhattacharya, Economist
Alberta Treasury Board and Finance
Phone: 780-644-0021
Toll free: 310-0000 before the phone number (in Alberta)
Email: [email protected]