Summary
Economic vitality in the Québec City census metropolitan area (CMA) and a robust labour market supported consumption, a major component of gross domestic product (GDP). Investment, however, was supported by the level of residential investment, with growth reaching a record high in 2018. Not to be outdone, public investment also contributed to the CMA’s economic growth. Overall, the area maintained a growth level similar to that of 2017 (2.4%), a performance that brought the CMA’s real GDP to $35.8B in 2018.
The vast majority of sectors in the economy contributed to this rise in real GDP. However, real GDP declined for the information and cultural industries,1 and also for primary industry and utilities. Labour productivity, a determining factor of economic growth that remains a major challenge for the CMA, reached $79,115 in 2018, a 0.2% increase compared to the previous year. Business investment in materials and equipment and their capacity to adopt relevant technological innovations influenced this level of productivity. GDP per capita reached $43,742, a 1.6% increase.
