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Food services and drinking places

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March 2009 (preliminary) (Previous release)

Current dollar sales for the food services and drinking places industry decreased 0.8% from the previous month to just under $4.0 billion in March. This comes after an increase in sales in both January and February.

The price of food purchased in restaurants increased by 0.1% between February and March, according to the Consumer Price Index.

In March, three of the four sectors in the industry posted lower sales relative to February. The largest sales decrease was in limited service restaurants where patrons order and pay for their meals at the counter, down 1.1%.

Sales at full-service restaurants, where patrons order and pay for meals at their table, decreased by 0.8%, while sales at drinking places declined by 0.3%.

Sales in the special food services sector, which comprises food service contractors, caterers and mobile food services, increased by 0.8%.

Across the country, seven provinces registered lower sales, while three had increases. The largest sales decrease was in British Colombia while Prince Edward Island posted the largest increase.

Note: All data in this release are seasonally adjusted and expressed in current dollars.

Preliminary data are provided for the current reference month. Unadjusted data, based on late responses, are revised for the two previous months. Seasonally adjusted data were revised back to January 2008.

Starting in the summer of 2009, annual revisions will take place once a year, for all months in the previous years to improve data quality and coherence.

Available on CANSIM: table 355-0006.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 2419.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Marc Racette (613-951-2924; fax: 613-951-6696; marc.racette@statcan.gc.ca), or Pierre Felx (613-951-0075; pierre.felx@statcan.gc.ca), Service Industries Division.

Table 1

Food services and drinking places
  March 2008r December 2008r January 2009r February 2009r March 2009p February to March 2009
  Seasonally adjusted
  $ thousands % change
Total, food services sales 3,862,335 3,898,234 3,967,405 4,008,800 3,976,911 -0.8
Full-service restaurants 1,761,296 1,770,810 1,790,325 1,827,382 1,812,067 -0.8
Limited-service eating places 1,592,442 1,627,592 1,664,682 1,680,528 1,662,366 -1.1
Special food services 315,774 299,918 310,773 293,604 295,888 0.8
Drinking places 192,823 199,914 201,625 207,286 206,590 -0.3
Provinces and territories            
Newfoundland and Labrador 43,399 47,565 49,091 48,716 49,001 0.6
Prince Edward Island 12,959 13,395 13,253 13,207 13,315 0.8
Nova Scotia 98,591 97,662 101,145 101,161 99,916 -1.2
New Brunswick 68,112 71,056 71,925 73,785 73,115 -0.9
Quebec 758,598 798,378 781,289 823,654 827,848 0.5
Ontario 1,461,734 1,471,115 1,497,175 1,513,340 1,501,843 -0.8
Manitoba 113,987 113,350 118,368 117,977 116,094 -1.6
Saskatchewan 104,058 108,534 109,887 111,064 109,791 -1.1
Alberta 545,838 539,480 556,604 560,048 551,519 -1.5
British Columbia 643,947 626,399 657,003 635,025 624,163 -1.7
Yukon 3,360 3,994 3,882 3,916 F F
Northwest Territories 7,157 6,740 7,201 6,366 F F
Nunavut 595 566 582 541 F F
revised
preliminary
unreliable
Note(s):
Figures may not add up to totals due to rounding.