A top market researcher says an over-reliance on government has stunted entrepreneurial growth in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Speaking at the St. John’s Board of Trade 2011 Business Development Summit in St. John’s this morning, Don Mills said several positive economic indicators in the province are offset by a nagging problem: a 13.7 per cent unemployment rate.
“The good news is that the numbers have been coming down, generally speaking, going in the right direction,” said Mills. “The bad news is that this does not make sense to me. How can you be a have province with a 13 and a half per cent unemployment rate? How is that possible? There’s a disconnect here.”
Mills blamed chronic, systemic unemployment on pockets of the population who are, if not unemployable, uninterested in working full-time.
“That is dragging on your employment numbers, and it hurts your image. You cannot say you’re a have province and have 13.7 per cent unemployment. It sends a mixed message. How do you attract people to your province with this unemployment rate?”
The unemployment rate reflects an economic legacy, rather than the province’s reality, he said, similar to the other Atlantic provinces, all of which have unemployment rates higher than the national average.
“For too long, this region has been too reliant on government,” said Mills. “The private sector, the entrepreneurial side has been diminished as a result of that.”
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I agree 100% with a back to work plan!