Jobless numbers “good news”
PRINCE GEORGE – “Ah Crap! What am I going to do? out of a job.”
That was Faith Levy’s first reaction back in mid-March, after hearing the order from the Provincial Health Office which meant her workplace, the BX Pub, would have to close its doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
She has since returned to work after three months off. She is one of the hundreds of thousands who are returning to the workforce in Canada.
Nationally, the unemployment rate in May was 13.7%, up from 11.7% in April. But the numbers also reflect the return of 290,000 workers to the workforce. In B.C., the number in May was 13.4%, up from 11.5% in April. Locally, Prince George saw a more modest jump, from 10.1% in April to 11.8% last month. Oddly enough, that’s good news.