APEC Releases Mixed Bag Analysis of Region’s Economy
HALIFAX–The Atlantic Provinces Economic Council (APEC) has released its latest analysis of the region’s economy, finding increases in tourism, retail and home sales and declines in employment and merchandise exports.
“It’s a bit of a hodgepodge,” APEC senior policy analyst Fred Bergman said in a release. “While employment declined by 0.7 per cent in the Atlantic region in the first seven months of the year, wages and salaries in the three Maritime provinces went up a full percentage point more than they did in the rest of the country.”
APEC reports that retail sales in the Maritimes were up nearly seven per cent in the first five months of 2016, with much of that driven by higher motor vehicle sales. The increased HST rates in Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island is expected to decrease spending volumes for the rest of the year.
Lobster and crab exports were up 23 per cent in the first half of the year, though there was an overall decline of 16 per cent in merchandise exports.
The analysis also found that immigration, the only factor preventing population decline in the Atlantic provinces, has been up substantially in 2016. This was mostly due to the influx of Syrian refugees as 2,300 Syrian immigrants arrived, with most settling in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, in the first quarter.
“Next year there could be another boost due to the recent announcement by the federal and provincial governments of an Atlantic Growth Strategy,” Bergman said. “APEC estimates the immigration pilot project may attract upwards of 5,000 people, which would be a 60 per cent increase over 2015 levels.”