As COVID restrictions continue to evolve all over the world, so does the effect these restrictions have on our economy, lifestyles, and mental health.

We recently asked our audience to give us some feedback about how they’ve been affected, and how they feel our economic recovery will go in the future. Here are some things that we learned from the results of this survey.

COVID-19 Impact on Alberta

Here in Alberta, our economy was already seeing signs of a recession prior to the beginning of the pandemic. Declining oil prices had a large negative effect on the oil & gas industry, and on the industries that depend on revenue from oil & gas operations. It’s easy to see the effects of this trickle down through most industries in Alberta. Home purchase and rental prices decrease when workers move away, restaurants see fewer patrons as people have less money to spend, nearly every sector experiences decreased sales when oil prices drop.

In the midst of this recession, we were confronted with a new economic danger – COVID-19. Major government imposed restrictions brought many businesses to an immediate halt. Unemployment skyrocketed from 7.2% in February 2020 to 15.5% in May 2020. Even more telling is the Labour Utilization rate, which indicates the number of people who are still technically employed, but have lost most, or all, of their work hours. In May 2020, that number rose to 34.8% – Over one third of Alberta’s workforce, sitting idle and in many cases, unpaid. The results of such drastic events have devastated many industries, and have shown negative effects on our economy as a whole. 

Which of these situations have you personally faced?

Our survey indicated that 52% of the respondents experienced reduced work hours or even complete job loss. The respondents to our survey came from a wide range of industries, with Mining/Oil & Gas being one of the largest percentages. The demographics of people who answered our call was fairly representative of the industry distribution that we see in Alberta as a whole. 

How has demand for your services been impacted by Coronavirus?

Over 60% of these people told us that there has been a negative impact on their industry due to COVID-19, with only 11% seeing some positive impact on their business. 

It’s not all about numbers though – Mental health is an often overlooked casualty of economic recession. As people experience salary stagnation, pay cuts and job loss, they also experience stress, depression and anxiety. Our survey asked what struggles people are facing during this time of restriction. Over 58% of our respondents were struggling with being unable to visit their family members, which causes deep feelings of isolation and loneliness. Being unable to come together to grieve the loss of loved ones has been a struggle for many people in our communities, affecting over 5% of the people surveyed. 

People faced difficulty in many essential tasks, such as accessing health care, affording food and shelter, or helping their children with schoolwork. In some instances, making sense of the massive, ever changing amount of information about COVID-19 was difficult. We saw multiple news sources reporting updates on a nearly hourly basis, sometimes we were told conflicting information, and this information overload made everything seem as clear as mud. 

All of these stressors resulted in the majority of our respondents reporting negative changes in their mental health. 42% have had difficulty sleeping, 55% were feeling stressed about their lives, 20% had feelings of loneliness, and 17% were experiencing an increase in their use of drugs, alcohol and medication. Cases of domestic violence have increased. People are on edge in these unsettling times, and the stress of a global pandemic paired with economic uncertainty has created a mental health tinder box. 

How much longer will COVID-19 hurt your local economy?

Our community has been looking towards the future, hopeful for recovery. 44% of our survey participants are expecting the impact of the COVID restrictions to be with us for over a year, while an optimistic 34% think that the impact will subside within 6 months. 

What do you think of the restrictions put in place for COVID-19?

Restrictions have begun to ease up, and with our population’s continued participation with the advice given to us by our health agencies, we can start to get back to life again. While things will likely never be the same again, we can begin to look forward to industries opening back up. Jobs will be regained, the economy will strengthen, and the people can start to feel secure.