Alberta Activity Index

Current issue date

Alberta Activity Index

Activity takes a breather in May

• Provincial economic activity ticked down after consistent gains since September last year.
• The Alberta Activity Index (AAX) eased 0.9% month-over-month in May, following 1.1% growth in April.
• General business activity retreated after rising consecutively over the previous eight months and led majority of the overall decline. This more than offset growth in the energy sector, which advanced on the back of recovering drilling activity.
• Household activity contracted with lower retail sales, while the labour market was resilient despite heightened public health measures announced in the month.
• Despite the monthly slowdown, the AAX was up 18% relative to the pandemic low reached last April and stood 8.9% higher year-to-date.

Chart: Year-over-year change in Alberta Activity Index and real GDP
(to May 2021)

Data table

The following file is available in the Open Government Portal:

• Alberta Activity Index Data Table (January 1981 to May 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]