CALGARY — Alberta’s economic growth this year will be second only to Newfoundland & Labrabor, but Wild Rose Country will top the nation in 2014, according to a new forecast by RBC Economics.
The forecast said Newfoundland & Labrador will lead the country in Real Gross Domestic Product growth this year at 5.1 per cent followed by Alberta at 3.0 per cent.
Across the country, growth will be 1.8 per cent.
But in 2014, RBC forecasts Alberta to lead the country with GDP growth of 4.2 per cent while the country on a whole will experience 2.9 per cent growth.
Just last week, Statistics Canada revealed that for the second year in a row, Alberta led all provinces in economic growth at 3.9 per cent in 2012 compared with 1.8 per cent across the country.
In 2011, Alberta saw economic growth of 5.3 per cent while Canada’s growth was 2.6 per cent that year.
RBC forecasts Alberta’s unemployment rate to drop from 4.6 in 2012 to 4.4 per cent this year and to 4.5 per cent in 2014. Both those years Alberta will have the second lowest unemployment rate in the country behind Saskatchewan’s 4.3 per cent for both years.
Canada is forecast to see unemployment drop from 7.2 per cent in 2012 to 7.0 per cent this year and to 6.7 per cent in 2014.
Employment growth in Alberta will remain strong as well with it staying the same as 2012 at 2.6 per cent this year followed by a dip to 1.9 per cent in 2014. This year Alberta will be behind only Saskatchewan’s nation-leading 2.7 per cent employment growth while in 2014 Alberta will lead the country in growth.
Canada is forecast to see employment increase from 1.2 per cent in 2012 to 1.5 per cent this year and 1.3 per cent in 2014.
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