Manitoba's economy still holding its own

Well, we've been hearing for a while how messed up the economy is, and on a national or global scale, this is true. According to this article, the national unemployment rate in April was 8%, unchanged from the previous month. That's actually not bad all things considered, though the fact that the new jobs are all "self-employment" makes me feel uneasy, for reasons pointed out here.

But in the same Free Press article, we find this:

Here's what happened provincially (previous month in brackets):

-Newfoundland 14.7 (14.7)

-Prince Edward Island 12.4 (11.5)

-Nova Scotia 9.2 (8.9)

-New Brunswick 9.5 (8.8)

-Quebec 8.4 (8.3)

-Ontario 8.7 (8.7)

-Manitoba 4.6 (5.1)

-Saskatchewan 5.0 (4.7)

-Alberta 6.0 (5.8)

-British Columbia 7.4 (7.4)

So Manitoba is actually well ahead of the game here. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how long this will last:

Export Development Canada predicts Manitoba's export sales will plunge by 16 per cent to just under $10.8 billion in 2009 from $12.8 billion in 2008.

That would be the biggest percentage decline since at least 1981, according to EDC chief economist Peter Hall. It's also more than four times bigger than the next worst decline in the last 28 years -- a 3.8 per cent drop in 1986.

But if it's any consolation, most other parts of the country are expected to fare worse, Hall told about 85 guests at a noon-hour session co-sponsored by the EDC and the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters.

The EDC predicts Newfoundland and Labrador's export sales will plunge by 51 per cent this year, Saskatchewan's by 37 per cent and Alberta's by 34 per cent. And Canada is looking at a 22.2 per cent drop, which Hall said would be its biggest annual decline in more than 48 years.

From this article. It's good that even here, we're expected to be ahead of the game, but we'll definitely see some hard times.