Many Atlantic Canadian Economic Sectors Returning To Normal, Says New Report
HALIFAX – Some sectors in Atlantic Canada continue to be heavily hit, but others are meeting monthly employment levels close at or above 2019 numbers, according to the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council’s latest report.
Accommodations and food services continue to be the most heavily hit sectors by the pandemic, but are seeing improvements compared to 2020 as Atlantic Canada continues to steadily reopen. The industries were operating at an estimated 20 percent loss of employment in May compared to early 2020 before the pandemic.
The transportation, agriculture, manufacturing, utilities, and healthcare sectors were performing close to the same as pre-pandemic in May, while the financial service, professional service, and public administration sectors are seeing increased employment of up to approximately 13 percent.
“Overall employment has bounced back, but the economic recovery remains uneven across industries,” said Fred Bergman, APEC’s Senior Policy Analyst, in a release. “Retail trade and housing are contributing to growth across the region, while exports are generally on the rebound.”
The report says lower mortgage rates, remote work opportunities, lower population density, and fewer cases of Covid-19 have all contributed to boosting the regional housing demand.
“Regional house prices have increased considerably in the Maritimes as strong demand ran up against limited supply,” said Bergman. “Atlantic home sales were almost 50 percent higher in the first quarter of this year than the same period in 2020.”
The council says that despite outbreaks like the recent one in Nova Scotia that caused tightened restrictions, each province’s economies are on their way to recovery.
The report also noted that about 35 percent of the Atlantic region’s employees want to work mostly from home after the pandemic ends, 36 percent say they would like to spend half of their work hours in the office and half from home, and 29 percent say they would rather spend all their hours at home.
Meanwhile, employers are more interested in having workers back in the office as a national survey indicated almost a third of employers say it is likely or very likely they will want their employees back on site. Less than a fifth indicated they were likely to offer more employees the possibility of remote work.
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