The City has been presented with a better look at several key economic drivers in the first ever 'State of the Nanaimo Economy' report, presented Tuesday, Feb. 18 to the City's economic development task force. (City of Nanaimo)

By Alex Rawnsley

a closer look

New report highlights key drivers for Nanaimo’s future growth

Feb 20, 2020 | 7:10 AM

NANAIMO — For the first time ever, the City of Nanaimo has a crystal clear picture of exactly who lives in the region, where they came from and what they do.

A ‘State of the Nanaimo Economy’ report will be presented to Council on Monday, Feb. 24 and provides a data-driven look at the successes, failures and potential next steps for Nanaimo.

‘It lets Council and the public have a better sense on how we’re doing on the economy,” Bill Corsan, community development director said. “Sometimes we hear larger data presented at the national and provincial level but to get it at the municipal level is very helpful.”

The report will form the backbone of an economic development strategy and influence decision making from City Hall.

“We’re looking to create a strategy based on quantifiable data which we can get out of this type of report,” Corsan said. “Through that we can reach out to stakeholders to understand where we need to focus our efforts then we’ll start drafting out the economic development strategy.”

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Many common perceptions about the city were confirmed in the report including housing cost increases and a renewed focus on purpose-built rentals. However it also shed light on areas where Nanaimo lags behind the rest of the province.

Of note to the report’s author, economic development officer Amrit Manhas, was the link between education levels and the average income of Nanaimo residents.

She told NanaimoNewsNOW the largest number of jobs in Nanaimo are in the retail sector with healthcare, social assistance, construction and food/accommodations not far behind.

“Some of those are lower paying jobs,” Manhas said. “(In Nanaimo) we have a higher percentage of high school graduates (compared to B.C.) but we still lag behind when it comes to post secondary credentials.”

The ‘State of the Nanaimo Economy’ report showed Nanaimo is ahead of the provincial average for high school graduation rates, but lacks in further education. (City of Nanaimo)

The report also looked at a banner 2019 in terms of building permit volume and Nanaimo’s infrastructure investment.

The City almost doubled its previous record for construction building permits, green-lighting $445 million worth of new projects.

Considerable investment was also dedicated to the Port of Nanaimo ($100 million project), Nanaimo Airport ($14.2 million terminal expansion) and fibre optic installation by Telus ($65 million project).

The report also found Nanaimo’s population, which is due to pass 100,000 within the City limits in 2020, is considerably less diverse than the provincial average.

Visible minorities make up just 9.9 per cent of Nanaimo residents, well down from the provincial average of 31.1 per cent.

A full version of the report is available here.

alex.rawnsley@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley