HRM scores near top of economic activity index

Published: January 20, 2012 2:46 a.m.

Last modified: January 20, 2012 2:50 a.m.

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The Halifax Regional Municipality came in fourth in CIBC’s latest ranking of metropolitan economic activity.

HRM scored 16.8 on CIBC World Market’s Metropolitan Economic Activity Index, placing just behind Kitchener (18.0), Edmonton (20.0), and Toronto (23.0).

The ranking takes into account indicators such as population growth, employment and unemployment, housing starts and bankruptcy rates.

While HRM did not stand out in any of those measures, it scored sufficiently high in a number of categories to rank near the top of the list.

“The city enjoyed a relatively healthy population growth while the labour market is performing somewhat above average,” the report notes. “The real estate market is well balanced, with housing starts rising by well over 40 per cent (year-over-year) in the third quarter of 2011.”

The report ranked 25 of Canada’s largest municipalities, including two other Atlantic cities. St. John’s placed 13th on the list with a score of 11. Saint John came in at 17th, with a score of 7.1.

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