The latest jobs report shows uneven progress for British Columbia.
Overall, the numbers are positive, which is notable considering outside pressures from U.S. trade policies. The overall unemployment rate dropped from 6.6 per cent to 6.4 per cent from October to November. This is a reversal of the 0.2 percentage point bump a month earlier.
“Our economy continues to show resiliency in the face of some serious global uncertainty and headwinds,” said Ravi Kahlon, B.C.’s jobs minister, on Friday, Dec. 5.
But the news is not positive for all. The unemployment rate for women is on the rise, jumping from 13.8 per cent to 14.3 per cent for women aged 15 to 24, and 4.8 to 5.4 per cent for core-aged women 25 to 54 years old.
Kahlon said the government is working to understand why youth unemployment for both genders is stubbornly high, and acknowledges that things could be better.
“We don’t want to see people laid off,” he said. “We want to see people working. We want to see more opportunities.”
Geographical differences abound as well. The unemployment rates in Vancouver and Victoria both dropped by 0.1 percentage points, with Vancouver’s rate falling to 6.2 per cent and Victoria’s to 4.1 per cent. But in Kelowna, the situation is very different, where unemployment rose from 9.3 per cent to 11 per cent.
“This is a tale of two economies; Victoria gets fat with government jobs while the rest of B.C. gets lean,” B.C. Conservative MLA Gavin Dew said in a news release. Dew represents Kelowna-Mission and holds the small business critic portfolio.
Kahlon said Kelowna’s situation could be exacerbated by lumber mill closures and tech industry alters hiring practices as AI usage increases.