B.C. set the pace for job growth in Canada in 2016 and that will continue in 2017. Thanks to a Canada-leading job-growth rate of 3.0 per cent, more than 69,000 jobs were created in B.C. during the first 11 months of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015. With more than 2.3 million people working in the province, B.C. also boasts the country’s lowest unemployment rate.
Financial institutes such as RBC Economics, BMO Capital Markets, Desjardins, Scotiabank along with the Conference Board of Canada are projecting that job growth in B.C., while moderate, will once again outpace Canada as a whole and will either be leading all other provinces or be right near the top. In addition, these forecasters expect B.C.’s unemployment rate to continue its downward trajectory next year, to sit between 6.1 per cent and a low of 5.7 per cent.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business’s (CFIB) released its Job Vacancy Report in December. The voice of over 109,000 small businesses from across the country says B.C.’s private sector job vacancy rate is the highest among provinces at 3.5 per cent and the highest it has been in the province since 2008 – prior to the global recession.
B.C. has gone from having Canada’s fourth-lowest unemployment rate in 2011 to having the lowest in Canada at 6.1 per cent in November 2016. This marks six consecutive months B.C. has had the lowest unemployment rate in the country.
These positive reports build on the most recent Labour Market Outlook which forecasts nearly one million job openings in B.C. by 2025.
Over the next decade, $3 billion of training investment is being directed to focus on skills and programs for future in-demand jobs. Job openings in the next 10 years are expected in major occupational groups including: sales and service; health; trades, transport and equipment operators; manufacturing and utilities; and natural resources and agriculture.
“2016 has been an amazing year for job creation in B.C. It is because of the hard work of our small businesses, entrepreneurs, employers and the skilled workforce in our province that has helped to strengthen B.C.’s diversified economy, allowing our province to lead the nation in job creation and economic growth. This is something that all British Columbians should be proud of as their hard work has made this achievement possible,” said Shirley Bond, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour.
