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The printed version remains the official version.
 		BUDGET 97: REPORTS
Ministry of Finance and Corporate Relations
Province of British Columbia
TABLE A2
BRITISH COLUMBIA ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
 
 		 Budget
Forecast		 Actual/
Estimate*		  
Forecast
  1996 1997 1998
Gross Domestic Product
    (percentage change in current dollars)		 4.8 1.0 3.6 4.1
Real Gross Domestic Product
    (percentage change in 1986 dollars)		 2.7 0.5 2.2 2.5
  Consumer Expenditure 3.0 2.4 2.2 2.7
  Government Expenditure 0.1 2.0 0.8 0.8
  Capital Investment 1.0 -0.6 3.2 4.9
  Exports of Goods and Services 2.5 -0.2 2.4 2.4
  Imports of Goods and Services 1.8 1.3 2.5 3.5
  Inventory Investment (change in billions of 1986 dollars) -0.6 -0.6 -0.1 0.1
Population (percentage change) 2.5 2.4 2.2 2.0
Net In-migration 61,200 60,600 57,400 51,900
  Interprovincial 26,300 18,800 19,000 20,500
  International 34,900 41,800 38,400 31,400
Labour Force (thousands) 1,978 1,982 2,019 2,057
  (percentage change) 2.2 2.4 1.9 1.9
Employment (thousands) 1,802 1,806 1,846 1,886
  (percentage change) 2.3 2.5 2.2 2.2
Unemployment Rate (per cent) 8.9 8.9 8.6 8.3
Retail Sales (millions of current dollars) 31,840 31,280 32,230 33,630
  (percentage change) 4.3 1.4 3.0 4.3
Labour Income ** (millions of current dollars) 59,130 58,696 60,750 63,200
  (percentage change) 4.7 3.7 3.5 4.0
Corporate Pre-tax Profits ***
  (millions of current dollars) 6,588 4,390 5,050 5,300
  (percentage change) 5.0 -30.0 15.0 5.0
Housing Starts (units) 25,100 27,641 30,200 30,600
  (percentage change) -7.2 2.2 9.3 1.3
Consumer Price Index (1986=100) 139.8 138.5 140.7 143.1
  (percentage change) 1.8 0.9 1.6 1.7
Key Assumptions:
  Economic Growth (per cent)
    Canada 2.1 1.5 2.9 2.9
    United States 2.0 2.5 2.3 2.4
    Japan 2.0 3.6 1.5 2.2
    Europe 2.3 1.6 2.5 2.6
  Canadian Interest Rates (per cent; annual average)
    3-month 5.3 4.3 3.4 3.9
    10-year and over 7.6 7.5 6.5 6.6
  U.S. cents/Canadian dollar 73.1 73.4 74.3 75.2
  British Columbia Export Prices (percentage change) 3.1 -0.9 1.0 1.1

* British Columbia GDP data for 1996 are Ministry of Finance and Corporate Relations estimates.
** Wages, salaries and supplementary labour income (e.g., employer-paid benefits).
*** Levels are not comparable to 1996 budget document due to Statistics Canada data revisions.

Budget 97 Reports

BC Budget 97

BC Ministry of Finance and Corporate Relations

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