As many of you know I have a relatively new podcast produced and hosted by Matt George called Growing Pains with David Campbell. Over the years I have experimented with various formats – including a weekly video podcast for a…
Continue ReadingMoncton CMA building permit values powering through Covid-19, for now
It might be just a quirk of timing but I was a bit surprised to see the value of building permits issued in Moncton actually rose in April compared to last year. Across the country, permit values have dropped substantially. …
Continue ReadingIs the crapping on GDP a euphemism for something else?
I see a lot of social media chatter about GDP being the wrong measure of progress. It’s one thing to say we need better measures of economic activity and outcomes but increasingly I get the sense that people don’t like…
Continue ReadingCovid-19 workforce impacts: Women vs. men
Using the Labour Force Survey we have some data on the impact of Covid-19 on the labour market situation by male/female in New Brunswick. I’m using unadjusted data because I am comparing the year-over-year numbers. The number of unemployed women…
Continue ReadingOpen economy and Covid-19 management: Contact tracing is key
Has anyone seen a story in New Brunswick about the provincial contact tracing process? The Economist has a great story this week covering how other countries are doing it. Germany, which still has hundreds and hundreds of new cases per…
Continue ReadingFrom Bubble Boy to inter-jurisdictional bubble tourism?
Of all the cute – and partially creepy – terms that have crept into the vernacular in recent weeks, ‘bubble’ is probably my favourite (describing now as ‘Covidic times’ is a close second). From the original bubble boy of Seinfeld…
Continue ReadingThe TFWs are coming, Hurrah! Hurrah!
You can sympathize with the Premier. There were 55,000 unemployed officially in April and if our goal as a province is to have the same employment rate (share of the adult population employed) as the country overall that would add…
Continue ReadingGrowing Pains: A conversation with the NB Biz Council’s Adrienne O’Pray
Matt and I had another good conversation this week. This time Adrienne O’Pray from the New Brunswick Business Council was on the hot seat. There is a lot of focus on getting Main Street back to health (restaurants, hair stylists,…
Continue ReadingBusiness entry and exit in the time of Covid-19
In a typical year, around 3,000 private sector employers go out of business. This means that every year around 12% of all businesses go under (and again these are employer businesses so they must have staff). Nearly 13% of restaurants…
Continue ReadingExports to the United States and Covid-19: New Brunswick edition
Like most other statistics, the most recent data we have starts to show the potential impact of Covid-19 but not the full picture. We have data through March 2020 but April will be more informative. We do know the value…
Continue Reading