Public sector employment in Newfoundland and Labrador has increased significantly since the pandemic struck.

The numbers are outlined in APEC’s latest economic report.

The report on Newfoundland and Labrador shows that employment in the province is down by about 3000 jobs.

Despite that, public sector employment is up by about 7,000, mostly within federal and municipal governments, since February of 2020 while employment in the private sector is down about 10,000.

APEC report co-author Patrick Brannan says the increase in public sector growth was driven in part by COVID-19.

He says part of that has been to meet the needs of the pandemic and support of the province through COVID-19.

Brannan says while Statistics Canada and other surveys are showing different numbers, “it’s definitely positive for the public sector and negative for the private sector.”

Statistics Canada’s numbers show public sector employment increased by 7000 across all three levels of government.

Immigration remains slow in the first half of 2021, down nearly 40 per cent from 2019 levels. Net interprovincial migration was positive for the first time since 2016, which helped slow the declining population.

Retail sales are up nearly 15 per cent in 2021 compared to 2020, but the rebound is below that in most other provinces according to APEC.

In June of 2021, retail sales were down 2 per cent over the previous year, the only decline in the country.

The strongest retail growth areas over the first half of the year were in vehicle sales, furniture and clothing.