New Report Hones In On Economic Vulnerability From COVID-19

A new report finds industry and economic vulnerability from COVID-19 varies widely between New Brunswick counties.

The Atlantic Provinces Economic Council looked at the labour force composition in industries most impacted by the pandemic.

Patrick Brannon, director of major projects, said they found rural areas tend to have higher vulnerability rates than urban centres.

“The rural areas, because of their industry composition — strong reliance on fishing, food processing, aquaculture and tourism — have been more vulnerable to the impacts of COVID-19,” said Brannon.

Charlotte County had the highest share of workers in vulnerable industries at 43 per cent, well above the provincial average of 28 per cent.

Brannon noted the southwestern New Brunswick county relies heavily on the fishing, aquaculture and food processing sectors.

“Those industries have started to come back a bit and we expect them to continue to grow as restaurants, for example, start to open up across North America. That’ll help demand for fish and for seafood products,” he said. It’ll take a little bit of time, but right now, that county is the most vulnerable.”

Most other areas in the province saw their vulnerability rates range from between 20 and 30 per cent, including the counties surrounding the province’s three largest cities.

When looking at Atlantic Canada as a whole, nine of the 10 regions with the lowest vulnerability rates were located in New Brunswick.

“Some of the industries that are important in New Brunswick, like forestry, have not been hit as hard. The forest product sector is doing quite well, especially wood products, because of the strong demand for housing and renovations across North America,” said Brannon.

“In cities like Fredericton that have a strong reliance on government jobs, cities tend to have more service jobs like professional services and financial services, so those types of industries are actually doing quite well and have bounced back.”

Brannon said the main message they are trying to send is that each area has different economic vulnerabilities and some will struggle more than others to respond once the pandemic subsides.

“Municipalities and these small communities need to adopt some economic development strategies that are really tailored to their unique circumstances and governments need to understand that it’s not a one-size-fits-all thing.”

The report is the latest in a series of reports created by APEC for the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce.