Alberta Population Report Q4 2010

The Alberta population report for the Q4 2010 was released last month here.

On a quarterly basis Alberta's population grew by 0.21% in Q4 2010.

7,249 natural growth (births - deaths)
2,510 net interprovincial migration
4,633 net international migration
-6,725 net non-permanent residents (!)


The exodus of non-permanent residents was offset by international and interprovincial immigration.

Alberta Population Report Q3 2010

The Alberta population report for the Q3 2010 was released last week here.

On a quarterly basis Alberta's population grew by 0.38% in Q3 2010.

8,267 natural growth (births - deaths)
1,155 net interprovincial migration
6,361 net international migration
-1,643 net non-permanent residents


While the Alberta population growth remains positive and higher than the Canadian average it is much slower than the boom year of 2006 due to lower inter provincial migration. International immigration and a higher natural increase has offset this somewhat. This is evident when comparing recent figures with those in 2006.

On a quarterly basis Alberta's population grew by 1.12% in Q3 2006.

6,400 natural growth (births - deaths)
16,729 net interprovincial migration
4,775 net international migration
2,795 net non permanent residence

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

To stay on top of thing I have decided to pick a few stats each week regarding the Alberta economy. From the Alberta Finance Weekly update. These are not the most recent updates just ones that caught my attention.

The good.

In the labour market hourly wages have not shown any signs of weakness. Hourly wages in Alberta are up 4.5% this February year over year. I think high wages for the majority of people that remained employed in Alberta and record low interest rates are contributing factors to improving conditions in the real estate market over the last couple months.

The Bad.

Retail sales are down 6.3% in January. This is notable because there has been an expansion in the amount of retail space over the past few years, so I would guess that the downturn would feel worse than this in terms of same store sales.

The Ugly.

The number of rigs drilled is down 43.9% this Febraury comapred to last year. This is comparing to 2008 which the industry never recovered fully from the beating it took in 2007.