A year ago, Mainebiz asked 20 business leaders for their outlook for 2020. Most painted a picture of a continued booming real estate market and consumer spending, coupled with the challenge of an ongoing labor shortage. A year later, even with the pandemic and resulting shutdown, many of the predictions were actually on target. The […]
A year ago, Mainebiz asked 20 business leaders for their outlook for 2020. Most painted a picture of a continued booming real estate market and consumer spending, coupled with the challenge of an ongoing labor shortage.
A year later, even with the pandemic and resulting shutdown, many of the predictions were actually on target.
The hospitality industry, including restaurants, hotels and attractions, bore the brunt of the shutdown.
But commercial real estate construction protects continued unabated, albeit with tighter, COVID-related precautions. The demand for houses, driven by out-of-state buyers, fueled a 20% increase in Maine’s median home price through November. And while many retailers saw business screech to a halt, essential stores like supermarkets and big-box stores were in some cases busier than ever. Retailers of outdoor gear (boats, bikes, paddleboards, kayaks, snowshoes, skis, etc.) couldn’t keep up with demand.
After an initial double-digit spike, the labor market continues to recover, and Maine’s unemployment rate is in line with what it was during the 2008-2009 recession, and is lower than the national rate.
Marine services / manufacturing
Financial services
Hospitality
Lobster
