OTTAWA -- It was ever so slight, but the Canadian economy had a slight uptick in June, its first since July 2008.

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased 0.1 percent in June. However, for the second quarter as a whole real GDP decreased 0.9 percent. While the second quarter saw a decrease, it was a less pronounced rate of decline than the 1.6 percent drop in the first quarter of 2009.

According to Statistics Canada, the change is the growth rate from one period to the next, while the annualized change is the growth rate compounded annually. In that context, Canada’s real GDP contracted at an annualized rate of 3.4 percent in the second quarter, compared with a 1.0 percent decline in the US economy.

The second quarter report suggests increased purchases of motor vehicles pushed consumer spending higher in the second quarter, while a rebound in housing resales sparked activity in the residential real estate market.

Exports of goods and services and business investment in machinery and equipment were both down, but not as sharply as in the first quarter.

The output of goods-producing industries continued to decline -- by 3.6 percent -- with the manufacturing and energy sectors being the hardest hit. The service sector increased 0.3 percent following two consecutive quarterly declines, with the output of real estate agents and brokers contributing the most to the increase.