PG’s unemployment #’s drop slightly

Mar 8, 2019 | 2:54 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – Prince George’s unemployment rates for February sits at 6.4%, which is down from 7% in January. However, it is still higher than the provincial rate of 4.5%. But Stan Mitchell with KPMG says it all has to be taken into context.

“Our labour force has actually come up by 1,400 more people from January, which is a good thing because, of those 1,400 people, 1,100 found jobs. And those jobs are all full-time jobs.”

The unemployment rate is actually skewed by the 300 people who did not find jobs.

He says he reads two things into that. One, people are coming to Prince George in search of work because there is work to be had and that Prince George’s workforce picture is very volatile. 

He adds there is a trio of things that will impact that volatility. The first is the pending downturn in forestry as the Annual Allowable Cut is reduced to pre-Mountain Pine Beetle levels. He, and others, predict there will be jobs lost with mill closures. However, that may be offset by mega-projects in the oil and gas sector.

“I have a number of clients who are looking to add or re-position from being in the forest sector to the pipeline side of things.”

A third element that will impact the labour force is that, by 2030, 24% of Canada’s population will be moving into retirement age.