Provincial Outlook Economic Forecast: Quebec—Summer 2018

Document Highlights:

Overall real GDP growth will remain strong this year but will ease off to 1.6 per cent in 2019 and then average 1.4 per cent over 2020–22.

Construction will grow by 5.1 per cent in 2018 as a number of major projects get under way.

Unemployment will fall to 5.0 per cent by the end of this year and is not forecast to increase over the next few years.

A shortage of skilled labour will keep the pressure on wages, which are anticipated to grow at a pace well above inflation.

U.S. tariffs on aluminum are hurting Quebec’s exports of goods internationally, which will decline by 2.2 per cent this year.