The value of goods and services produced in Newfoundland and Labrador dropped 26% in 2009 compared to 2008. Those figures are in an appendix to the finance minister’s budget speech delivered on Monday.
GDP in 2009 hit $22 billion compared to $31 billion in 2008. That’s only slightly above the GDP in 2005. The single year drop erased the gains of 2006 and 2007 which together saw an increase in GDP of 27.9%.
Real GDP declined 8.9%.
In 2008, Premier Danny Williams claimed the province would be protected from the global recession by some unknown means. He and finance minister Tom Marshall continue to claim the recession did not affect Newfoundland and Labrador as severely as it did other places.
Average annual employment in the province during 2009 remained below employment levels in 2006 and the current forecast is for negligible growth (one half of one percent) in the coming year. Meanwhile the labour force remains swollen with returning migrants thrown out of work in other parts of the country by the recession.
Wages and salaries in the province are higher, driven primarily by increases in the public sector.
Sales of manufactured goods (shipment value) were down 33% in 2009. Housing starts fell 6%.
Oil production hit 97 million barrels in 2009, compared to 125 million in 2008. That’s basically the forecast production from Budget 2009. Interestingly, the December financial update had forecast an increase in oil production to 101 million barrels. Oil production is forecast to drop again – to 86 million barrels – in 2010.
Newsprint shipments in 2009 were down by 49% from 2008 and 66% from 2005. The value of fish landings was down 19% in 2009, wiping out gains in the preceding two fiscal years.
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