The Canadian Press
May 16, 2008 - 3:29 p.m.

OTTAWA - A review of economic statistics this week:

New housing prices up, supply down

Canadian contractors’ selling prices rose 6.1 per cent between March 2007 and March 2008, a slightly slower pacing than the 6.2 per cent year-over-year increase posted in February. Prices rose 0.2 per cent between February and March.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says home construction in Canada will slow this year by 14,000 units, with seven provinces registering declines, and sales of existing homes expected to fall 8.5 per cent. But the CMHC says sales will remain fairly strong by historical standards.

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Immigrant employment increased

Employment among immigrants increased 2.1 per cent - or 52,000 jobs - in 2007, while employment among Canadian-born workers grew at a rate of 1.3 per cent. But the employment-rate gap between immigrants and Canadian-born workers widened because the immigrant population grew much faster than its employment. The employment-rate gap between immigrants and the Canadian born widened to 5.9 percentage points in 2007 from 5.4 in 2006. Unemployment among core working-age immigrants edged up to 6.6 per cent from 6.5 - higher than the 4.6 per cent rate among Canadian-born workers.

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Productivity increased

Buoyed by an appreciating Canadian dollar, and high demand for natural resources, productivity increased 0.7 per cent in Canada finally year. Productivity surged 9.2 per cent in Newfoundland and Labrador, the fastest growth rate in the country. Alberta’s labour productivity fell 1.9 per cent.

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Motor vehicle sales strong