Natural resource jobs struggling mightily in Cariboo: report
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PRINCE GEORGE — The last few years have been rough for the natural resource sector especially in the Cariboo. According to a new report, unemployment numbers are the highest since 2009 and there is no telling when they will be able to bounce back.
The unemployment rate in the Cariboo continues to be a concern. It rose to 10.4 percent in the summer, the highest summer rate since the 2009 recession – and nowhere was that felt harder than the natural resource sector. Doherty believes recovery starts with a new softwood lumber agreement.
“Despite the challenges that we have right now south of the border and, now, globally with the COVID pandemic, we need to be able to build those policies and agreements and put those agreements in place so we can give assurances to our industry to see some long-term consistency and not have to ride that roller coaster all the time,” Doherty said.
According to the BC Check-up: Work, an annual report by the Chartered Professional Accountants of BC, the natural resource sector has lost nearly a third of jobs since September of last year. A big part of that is COVID, however, pre-COVID numbers were not promising either due to issues like the spruce beetle and wildfires.
