Employment Numbers For January

Feb 9, 2018 | 2:09 PM

PRINCE GEORGE — The national unemployment rate dropped from 6.8 percent to 5.9 percent year-over-year, while BC’s numbers also dropped from 5.6 percent to 4.8 percent. Regionally, there was also a decline, from 8.8 percent in January 2017 to 7.3 percent. Locally, the unemployment rate fell by more than a percent, to seven percent. 

But a further break down of the numbers shows an interesting picture. The population, year-over-year, has increased by only about 300 people and yet the employment rate, or those finding work in the labour force, has risen by 2,400, while the unemployment rate has dropped to seven percent from 8.1 percent.

“Our population hasn’t been going up and, so you’ve got people aging up into the workforce and, as they’re aging up into the workforce, they’re all able to find jobs,” explains Stan Mitchell with KPMG. 

He adds those jobs that people are “aging into” are predominantly full-time jobs.