Employment in British Columbia accelerated in January, rising by 0.8 per cent from December.
This followed a monthly increase in December and translated to 23,400 more people working.
The positive momentum in the provincial labour market brought year-over-year hiring growth up by 1.4 per cent. That said, the pace of year-over-year employment growth in B.C. has eased since May 2024, and January’s increase was still below the national performance of two per cent. The unemployment rate edged up to six per cent from 5.9 per cent in December as labour force growth (0.9 per cent) outpaced gains in employment. The labour participation rate rose to 65.2 per cent from 64.7 per cent, along with a 0.2-per-cent increase in the province’s population.
Both part-time and full-time employment reported monthly increases in January. Full-time employment grew by 0.9 per cent (19,900 people), while part-time employment rose by 0.6 per cent (3,500 people). The Vancouver census metropolitan area saw a 1.7-per-cent increase in its employment level, while the unemployment rate rose to 6.8 per cent from 6.5 per cent.
By sector, both services-producing and goods-producing industries contributed to the increase in employment in January. Services-producing industries reported a 0.6-per-cent increase, while goods-producing industries saw employment rise by two per cent. Within the former, professional, scientific and technical services led with a gain of 3.2 per cent (9,800 people) while transportation and warehousing also grew by 3.8 per cent (6,000 people). In the goods sector, employment in manufacturing registered a 4.9-per-cent gain (8,700 people) while construction employment also rose by two per cent (5,200 people). That said, these increments were offset by large declines in agriculture (down 20.3 per cent or 2,500 people) and utilities (down 15.7 per cent or 3,300 people).
Canada’s merchandise trade balance swung from a deficit to a surplus in December, the first surplus in nearly a year—since February 2024. December’s $708 million surplus followed a $986 million deficit in November. Merchandise exports rose by 4.9 per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis, marking the third consecutive increase, while imports also increased by 2.3 per cent. Tariff threats may have accelerated exports to the U.S. as firms stockpiled products.
B.C. merchandise exports rose 10.7 per cent in December, following a 2.5-per-cent decline in November. Higher energy product exports contributed significantly to the monthly growth, rising by 32.1 per cent ($344.8 million). Forestry products and building and packaging materials exports also increased by 12.3 per cent ($110 million), while metal and non-metallic mineral products increased by 7.1 per cent ($25 million). Metal ores and non-metallic mineral exports, meanwhile, fell by 13.2 per cent ($69.6 million). On a 12-month basis, overall merchandise trade came in three-per-cent lower in the last month of the year.
Imports decreased by 1.4 per cent in December, with notable declines in several categories. Farm, fishing and intermediate food product imports declined by 9.5 per cent ($42.8 million), metal ores and non-metallic mineral products decreased by 45.3 per cent ($84.6 million), metal and non-metallic mineral products fell by 20 per cent ($87.6 million) and forestry products and building and packaging materials imports decreased by 0.5 per cent ($2 million).
Bryan Yu is chief economist at Central 1.
