MISSISSAUGA, Ontario -

Though some concern exists in Canada — and despite the “fairly grim” economic prospects for several of the top economies throughout the world — the economic picture in Canada is pretty stable, according to ALG Canada, which offered its take on four key economic indicators in the market.

In fact, during the first quarter of 2011, annualized real GDP climbed 3.6 percent, ALG indicated.

That said, ALG said it has seen “some cause for concern in Canada over the slow growth in the U.S. economy due to strong economic linkages between the two markets, with the annualized rate of real GDP growth for Canada for Q2 of 2011 coming in at -0.4 percent.”

But the firm was quick to point out that unemployment (through August) in Canada is down 1.4 percentage points from its apex of 8.7 percent during the middle of 2009.

Employment has jumped 1.3 percent in the last year. The brunt of this growth has been in Ontario and Alberta and in the private sector.

ALG said that full-time employment is up 2.2 percent during this same time frame, with part-time work down 2.3 percent. Meanwhile, the number of hours worked has seen a more than 2-percent hike.

The firm then went on to break down its analysis by several economic factors, beginning with gas prices.

Gas Costs

Year-to-date — as of the end of the third quarter — fuel costs spiked to an average of $1.24 per liter.

Officials noted: “These upward trends also hold true for the past couple of years, on a year-over-year basis. Though there is often much volatility in the market for oil and gasoline, oil prices are forecasted to continue to increase, and as these indicators trend together, gas prices are also expected to increase for the next few years.”

Housing Prices

Since eclipsing their pre-recession high back in November, there has been no alleviation in housing prices, as of the end of the first quarter of 2011.

Furthermore, the 12 months leading up to the end of the first quarter had seen housing starts remain at “fairly sustained levels” of roughly 187,000 per month. That sum is a on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, ALG indicated.

“Though they were higher prior to 2009, the current numbers show a healthy housing market. Given the strength in the overall economy, as well as the strong recent growth in the housing market as a whole, ALG expects to see Canadian housing prices to continue with these trends into the future,” officials stated.

Wages

Moving along, weekly wage levels in Canada have bounced back following their slowdown and now exceed historical averages. They are projected to continue growing.

“After growth in wages had slowed in line with an increased unemployment rate in mid-2008 through mid-2009, they have since returned to levels stronger than historical averages,” ALG shared. “Seeing the growth in the overall economy, especially in the labor markets, ALG expects these upward movements in weekly wages to continue into the foreseeable future.”

Exchange Rate

Right now, the Canadian dollar is robust next to the U.S. currency. Not only that, it appears Canada has had a stronger rebound from the recession than its Southern neighbors, ALG suggested.

“When comparing how the two economies have performed recently, it is clear that Canada has done much better coming out of its respective recession,” the firm stressed.

As to the direction of the Canadian dollar, ALG forecasts it to remain historically strong for the short term as the U.S. markets are challenged with uncertainty.

However, it is expected to be right-sized to typical levels once the U.S. revs up its rebound.