BC – Thanks to a Canada-leading job-growth rate of 3.0%, more than 69,000 jobs have been created in BC during the first 11 months of 2016 compared to the same period of last year. And with over 2.3 million people working in the province and the country’s lowest unemployment rate, this good news is set to continue into the New Year.
For 2017, private sector financial institutes such as RBC Economics, BMO Capital Markets, Desjardins, Scotiabank along with the Conference Board of Canada are projecting that job growth in BC, 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 BC’s unemployment rate to continue its downward trajectory next year, to sit between 6.1% and a low of 5.7%.
Furthermore, 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 BC’s private sector job vacancy rate is the highest among provinces at 3.5% and the highest it has been in the province since 2008 – prior to the global recession.
To support long-term job creation and grow British Columbia’s economy, the Province launched the BC Jobs Plan in 2011. Since its launch, BC has gained nearly 175,000 new jobs with 88% of these in full-time positions.
BC has gone from having Canada’s fourth-lowest unemployment rate in 2011 to having the lowest in Canada at 6.1% in November 2016. This marks six consecutive months BC 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 BC by 2025.
To help fill these one million job openings, of which almost 80% will require post-secondary education or training, the Province is realigning BC’s education system and training programs with the needs of the labour market through BC’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint.
