Alberta Activity Index

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Alberta Activity Index

Activity up but momentum slows

• Provincial economic activity grew in October but at a more modest pace.
• The Alberta Activity Index (AAX) increased 0.7% month-over-month, following a growth of 2.4% in September.
• The gain was driven largely by the energy and household sectors. Higher rig activity and oil production supported the gain in the energy sector, while household activity was buoyed mainly by robust housing starts. Meanwhile, activity in the labour market declined for the first time since May as lower earnings offset a modest pick-up in employment. General business activity also fell with lacklustre factory sales.
• With the monthly rise, the AAX stood 9.3% higher than the low reached in May.
• Despite the uptick, the AAX remained almost 5% lower than in February and down 6.9% on a year-to-date basis.

Chart: Year-over-year change in Alberta Activity Index and real GDP
(to October 2020)
 

Source: Alberta Treasury Board and Finance

Data table

The following file is available in the Open Government Portal:

• Alberta Activity Index Data Table (January 1981 to October 2020)

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]