Canadian retail sales fell by 0.4 per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis in February, largely due to lower sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers, following a 0.6-per-cent dip in January. Core retail sales — which exclude gasoline stations and fuel vendors, and motor vehicle and parts dealers — increased by 0.5 per cent. On a volume basis, sales fell by 0.4 per cent. Tariff impacts on the economy were still limited in February, although likely filtered through confidence channels. Early estimates for a March bounce-back could reflect some front-loading of purchases or hoarding in advance of retaliatory tariffs. However, the growth is likely to be temporary as consumer confidence remains significantly subdued in the near term.
In B.C., total retail sales decreased by 0.6 per cent in February after seven consecutive monthly increases. Unadjusted retail sales in B.C. were up 1.1 per cent compared to the same month in 2024. B.C. subsectors’ year-over-year figures, which are unadjusted for seasonality, point to substantially lower sales at furniture, home furnishings, electronics and appliances retailers, down by nearly 17 per cent. Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealer sales also decreased by eight per cent, while food and beverage retailers’ sales declined by 1.4 per cent. On the other hand, motor vehicle and parts dealers’ sales rose by 5.6 per cent, while clothing, clothing accessories, shoes, jewelry, luggage and leather goods retailers’ sales increased by 1.2 per cent.
Regionally, the Metro Vancouver area saw seasonally adjusted retail sales fall by 0.9 per cent from January to February. Year over year, unadjusted sales increased by 2.3 per cent.
B.C. job counts fell modestly in February to 2.56 million positions, down 0.1 per cent, according to Statistics Canada’s latest Survey of Employers, Payroll and Hours. Goods-producing industries reported one per cent fewer positions (4,000 jobs) while services-producing industry payrolls saw a 0.1-per-cent increase in positions (nearly 1,700 jobs). Tariffs were not in effect during the month, although uncertainty undoubtedly weighed on business sentiment.
The provincial job vacancy rate remained at 3.4 per cent in February, with total vacancies falling to around 84,700 — the lowest level of vacancies seen since August 2017. While the job vacancy rate has remained below four per cent since May 2024, the latest data points to weak hiring sentiment on the part of employers, which has further deteriorated with tariff threats. Surveys from both the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and the Bank of Canada point to the persistence of a soft hiring environment.
Within the goods-producing industries, all sectors reported declines in payroll counts. The construction sector’s headcount decrease of 1.2 per cent (around 2,300 positions) led the overall decline. Manufacturing registered a 0.8-per-cent contraction (more than 1,200 positions). The most-notable increase in payroll counts among services sectors was in health care and social assistance, which reported a gain of one per cent (more than 3,500 positions). The growth was offset by a one-per-cent decline in educational services (nearly 2,000 positions) and a 0.4-per-cent contraction in accommodation and food services (more than 900 positions). After two consecutive months of payroll growth, B.C.’s transportation sector shed 0.6 per cent of positions (800 jobs).
Bryan Yu is chief economist at Central 1.
