Unemployment in B.C. fell to 5.4 per cent in July, according to data released by Statistics Canada Friday morning.
This represents a 20-basis-point decrease over June. After Quebec (4.5 per cent), Manitoba (4.9 per cent) and Saskatchewan (5.1 per cent), B.C. has the lowest unemployment rate in Canada.
Unlike B.C., all three provinces noted above saw unemployment increase on a month-to-month basis.
British Columbia’s labour force contracted by 0.3 per cent from June to July. It expanded by less than two per cent year over year.
In both instances, full-time employment rose as part-time employment fell.
On a monthly basis, full-time employment in B.C. edged higher (up 0.2 per cent over June) and part-time employment fell by one per cent.
B.C.'s 1.7-per-cent year-over-year increase in employment was driven by full-time work, up 1.2 per cent since July 2022. Part-time employment decreased by 0.7 per cent.
“Despite signs that the slowing economy is starting to weigh on the labour market,” wrote the Conference Board of Canada in a note published Friday, “layoffs in Canada have thus far remained remarkably stable.”
And in the case of British Columbia, the labour market is tightening despite economic headwinds and weakening short-term business confidence.
B.C. Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation Brenda Bailey said she understands the role affordable housing challenges play in the labour shortage seen across the province, and revealed that there will be additional housing policy changes made in the fall to try to address that issue.
“Historically, we've been focused on housing specifically for folks who are experiencing homelessness or folks that are challenged with finding affordable housing. We're focused on middle-class housing now as well,” she told BIV.
Across industries, employment dropped by 0.1 per cent from June to July, and rose by 0.8 per cent on a yearly basis.
On the services side, the biggest year-over-year movers concerned employment in: Finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (up 14.3); accommodation and food services (up nine per cent); other services (up 9.4 per cent); and public administration (up 7.9 per cent).
Information, culture and recreation (down 12.1 per cent) saw the largest decline in employment among services sectors. The category would include jobs in creative industries impacted by ongoing U.S. film and television job action.
Among goods-producing sectors, utilities (up 21.1 per cent) saw the biggest one-year gain in employment. Construction (down 10.2 per cent) and manufacturing (down 5.6 per cent) saw the biggest declines.
“In general, it is going up so far this year, we've added 13,600 jobs...but it's mixed throughout different industries in different regions, so it's not one complete story for the whole province,” said Bailey.
With files from Daisy Xiong.
