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Real GDP growth is projected at 1.7% in Nova Scotia for 2013, a 0.2 percentage point drop from the forecasted rate reported in Q1 2013. Overall, economic growth moved at a sluggish pace over the first half of 2013, with provincial industry output growth estimates essentially flat at 0.2% - the slowest pace since 2009 (RBC Economics). As discussed in Q1 2013, this weakness can mainly be attributed to various Natural Gas project delays, a decline in forestry export output, and weak domestic performance. According to the Labour Force Survey, employment was down 0.7% year-to-date (YTD) as of April. As a result, the YTD unemployment rate has climbed modestly to the current 9.4% Exports grew 5.7% YTD, mainly attributed to the restart of the Port Hawkesbury paper mill last year. The positive news is that this lull is expected to be temporary and the economy should gain some momentum during the second half of 2013, mainly due to the startup at Deep Panuke later this year.
Source : Cushman & Wakefield
