Real gross domestic product declined 0.3 per cent in August and early signs suggest the economy barely managed any growth in the third quarter, Statistics Canada said Friday.

Goods-producing industries were down in August for the fifth time this year while the services side contracted for the first time in six months, StatCan said.

The agency said August’s decline mostly offsets a gain of 0.3 per cent in real GDP for July, which was revised a tick higher from earlier estimates. StatCan had initially expected flat growth for August in its advance estimate.

The agency said a work stoppage among Air Canada flight attendants hampered air transportation activity in August. That subsector was down 4.6 per cent in the month, marking its steepest decline since the COVID-19 pandemic.Drought conditions constrained hydroelectric power generation in the month, the agency said, throttling overall output from the utilities sector.

The wholesale trade industry and the mining and quarrying subsectors also posted declines, partially offset by growth in retail trade.

The tariff-sensitive manufacturing industry posted a decline of 0.5 per cent in August, but an early look at September’s real GDP figures show the sector might have rebounded last month.

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