British Columbia gained 12,300 jobs in October, rebounding from September losses, while unemployment fell to 6.3%.
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British Columbia added 12,300 jobs in October, according to Statistics Canada’s latest Labour Force Survey, a rebound after the province lost 20,200 jobs in September.
Unemployment in B.C. ticked down 0.1 percentage points from September to 6.3%. The province also bucked the national trend: Canada’s economy shed 4,700 jobs in October and unemployment rose 0.2 points to 6.7%.
The gain in October was driven by part-time work. B.C. added 13,900 part-time jobs while losing 1,700 full-time positions.
Premier-designate Lorne Doerkson said in a statement that the job split showed the need to focus on building the private sector, adding, “After years of economic malaise in British Columbia, the province has a lot of ground to make up.” He added, “The challenges haven't disappeared and rebuilding confidence won't happen overnight.”
Sectorally, B.C. saw the biggest month-over-month job gains in information, culture and recreation (+7,600 jobs), wholesale and retail trade (+6,400 jobs) and construction (+3,700 jobs). The largest job losses were in transportation and warehousing (-2,700 jobs), public administration (-2,900 jobs) and professional, scientific and technical services (-3,900 jobs).
Kevin Milligan, director of the Vancouver School of Economics at the University of B.C., said monthly figures can be volatile and may obscure longer-term trends. He said that over the past year, the broader pattern has been “kind of flat,” including across demographic groups.
Milligan also said the longer-term breakdown shows damage to trade-exposed sectors such as forestry and mining, adding that resource-dependent communities are “feeling the pain,” even if forestry employs only a fraction of B.C.’s workforce.
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