The Atlantic Public Economic Council released an economic report this month summarizing the effects the economic downturn is having on the Atlantic region.

Entitled "Early Impact of the Recession in Atlantic Canada – March 2009" , the report indicates that the global economic recession is causing job losses and lower activity in manufacturing and mining industries - both industries with large workforces in eastern Canada.

However, overall Atlantic Canada seems to be weathering the storm a bit better than the rest of Canada, at least for now; job losses, residential real estate devaluations and retail sales decreases are lower than the national average.

On the street, NB has so far been hardest hit by layoffs, while PEI has seen a 111% increase in consumer bankruptcies.

In good news, growth will come from construction in the energy sector (such as Deep Panuke and Voisey Bay) and infrastructure investments by the provincial governments.

The two-page report is available free in PDF format on their website.