Jeanne MacNeil of Edmison Mehr Chartered Professional Accountants
SMITHERS – According to BC Check-Up: Work, an annual report by the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) on labour market trends across the province, there were 45,600 people working in Northwest British Columbia in September 2024, up 7.0% from September 2023.
“The region added 3,000 workers during the year,” noted Jeanne MacNeil, CPA, CA, partner at Edmison Mehr Chartered Professional Accountants. “The increase in Northeast B.C.’s workforce was spread out across the economy, rather than concentrated in a few industries.”
At the industry level, both the goods and services sectors experienced marginal growth during the year. An 1,100-person reduction in the manufacturing workforce was offset by small gains in other goods-producing industries. Meanwhile, gains in public administration, and a marginal increase health care and social assistance accounted for the bulk of growth in the services sector.
“The region is a key hub for exporting and natural resource projects, but there are other areas in the economy where we’ve struggled,” added MacNeil. “Health care is one of those where we’ve experienced acute labour shortages, so it’s encouraging to see a slight bump compared to this time last year.”
The unemployment rate in Northeast B.C. was 7.9 per cent, up slightly from the 7.2 per cent recorded in September 2023. Meanwhile, the labour force participation rate—the proportion of the working-age population who were either working or looking for work—rose 4.8 percentage points to 70.5%.
“We did see a slight bump in the unemployment rate, but that’s largely due to greater participation in the labour force,” continued MacNeil. “Northwest B.C. boasted the highest participation rate among B.C.’s economic regions in September, which is good news because some businesses in the region are still having trouble attracting skilled workers.”
To learn more, see www.bccheckup.com.
