A Faint Echo of Normalcy in Hospitality Sales?
In the U.S., retail and food services sales are combined in a single monthly report from the Census Bureau. Also, the data is relatively current. Latest results are for June 2020.
In Canada, ‘retail sales’ appear in one report, but one must chase down ‘food services and drinking place’ sales from another location. Also, the Canadian information is somewhat ‘stale’. For example, the latest Canadian data is for May 2020. Nevertheless, it’s what’s available.
Year-over-year ‘restaurant and bar’ sales for Canada and the provinces are set out in the interactive graph appearing below. By now, it’s well-known that the biggest job losses in the economy resulting from the coronavirus contagion and ‘remedial’ distancing have occurred in the hospitality sector. Graph 1 offers further confirmation.
As recently as February, nation-wide ‘food services and drinking place’ sales were upbeat, +3.4% year over year. In March, though, circumstances altered significantly. The total Canada figure became -36.2% y/y. Furthermore, all provinces were affected to nearly the same degree. The year-over-year percentage declines were in a narrow range, moving from -30.4% y/y for Nova Scotia to -38.4% for Quebec.
