Business News  Business Roundups   Australia   Canada   Europe   United States  Careers  Classified  Feature Article  Information Technology  New Technology  Education News  World Facts  Book Reviews  Archives/Research Search Tell your friends about this page Receive articles in your mailbox Privacy Policy				World Facts Quarterly Report April 2003 By Esme Friesen We offer this Facts & Stats special feature as the first of an ongoing series to be presented four times per year. It is our hope that presenting the facts without editorial comment will be an informative step forward for our readership. Please address any comments or reactions you may have to editor@galtglobalreview.co   Values quoted in local currency Australia Canada UK USA 2002 4Q 2002 4Q 2002 4Q 2002 4Q Employment Rate (%) 93.9 92.4 94.8 (2002 3Q) 94.1 Discount Rate (DDR) Jan 15, 2003 - Jan 14, 2004 (average†) 6.22% 5.68% 5.60% 4.74% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Change from prior quarter +0.4% +0.4% +0.3% +0.4% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Change over prior year +2.93% +3.95% +2.01% +2.93% Index of Service Companies 50+ is expansion N/A N/A 49.0 47.9 Manufacturing Index 54 N/A 50.1 50.5 Business Inventories (in Millions) $9,100 $2,420 £15,000 $1,155,441 Retail Trade - By Volume (1995=100) 128 130 137.1 153 Retail Trade - 12 month rate of change +5.4% +1.4% +4.2% +4.2% Retail Sales (in Millions) $14,530 $26,480 £136,600 $305,185 On-line Sales Total 2002 (in Millions) $4,800 $13,700 € 6,423 $45,327.7 Factory Capacity 77.1% 82.9% N/A 75.3% Wages and Salaries * (1995=100) 127.8 115.5 136.0 125.0 Change over prior quarter +1.0 +0.4 +3.0 +1.0 12 month rate of change N/A +1.7% +3.6% +2.6% Factory Orders (in Millions) $68,509 $43,748 £49,400 $321,159 Durable Goods Orders (in Millions) N/A $21,216 £24,200 $879,800 Business Investment ** (in Billions) $23.9 $86.2 £26.7 $980.9 New Housing Construction (1995=100) 135.1 162.8 131.6 135.9 12 month rate of change +19.5% +22.8% +2.8% +8.0% Productivity - Labour Output/employed person +2.3% +1.3% +2.1% +1.7% Productivity - Industrial (1995=100) 118.3 121.8 116.3 123.8 Rate of change +1.6% +5.5% -0.5% +2.0% New Mortgage Applications (in Billions) $20 $480 £28.8 $774 (forecast) New Vehicle Registrations (cars in Thousands) 44.4 78.0 176.3 656.0 12 month rate of change +1.1% +2.8% +11.6% +6.1% * Hourly earnings (manufacturing); **Private investment in fixed assets; N/A - Not available at time of publication: † Average Commercial Interest Rate based on terms of lending Sources: OECD; Economy.com; Stats Canadat; Australian Bureau of Statistics: Jupiter Research; Institute for National Statistics; IDC Australia; ISM; IDC; Australian Industry Group; Real Estate Institute of Australia; Mortgage Bankers Association of America; Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply; Bureau of Economic Analysis; NTC Research;Council of Mortgage Lenders © Copyright 2002 Galt Western Personnel Ltd. Unless otherwise specified, you may reprint this article, quote from it, use it in research or projects, duplicate it or distribute it. Credit of authorship and source MUST be given to galtglobalreview.com. Ownership of Copyright remains with Galt Western Personnel Ltd.   Return to Top      Business News / Business Roundup - Australia / Canada / Europe / United States / Careers / Classified / Information Technology / New Technology / Education News / World Facts / Book Reviews / Archives/Research