Reporting from the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia paints a mixed, increasingly pessimistic picture of the provincial economy, but what unites many economic regions of B.C. is a lack of affordable housing.
CPABC’s BC Check-Up finds "growing pessimism" among CPAs about B.C.'s state. The overall provincial unemployment rate hit six per cent in September, 0.5 per cent higher than a year ago, as labour demand has eased in recent months, the report notes.
The softening job market has especially hit youth aged 15 to 24 hard. According to the report, they are the "most impacted" as their unemployment rate jumped 3.7 per cent to 13.7 per cent. The report also finds "(unaffordable) housing" to be the top concern among members, with 85 per cent identifying it as a challenge facing B.C. businesses, similar to Sept. 2023. Concerns about housing affordability were especially pronounced in B.C.'s Southwest and Vancouver Island.
But Vancouver Island (inclusive Central Coast) is also the region with lowest unemployment rate among B.C. economic regions — a rate of 4.5 per cent in September 2024, down 0.3 per cent compared to the same time last year. The unemployment rate was even lower in Greater Victoria, with a rate of 3.9 per cent, the third-lowest among Canada's Census Metropolitan Areas.
On the other end of the spectrum, B.C.'s Northwest recorded the highest unemployment rate with 7.9 per cent in September, up 0.7 per cent from the same time last year.
But these figures do not necessarily tell the whole picture. While B.C.'s Northwest has seen unemployment rise, it is also dealing with a shortage of skilled workers.
“We did see a slight bump in the unemployment rate, but that’s largely due to greater participation in the labour force,” Jeanne MacNeil, CPA and partner at Edmison Mehr Chartered Professional Accountants, said. “Northwest B.C. boasted the highest participation rate among B.C.’s economic regions in September (70.5 per cent), which is good news because some businesses in the region are still having trouble attracting skilled workers.”
The story is different in the Okanagan-Thompson. While its unemployment rate was 5.2 per cent in September, a more telling figure is the local employment rate at 55.4 per cent of the working age population. That is the lowest figure in B.C. and reflects the region's aging demographics and job losses in various sectors, key among them agriculture.
“It was a devastating year for a lot of farmers in the region and that had knock-on effects for workers further down the supply chain,” said Karen Christiansen a partner at MNP's Kelowna office. Below-seasonal winter temperatures damaged large parts of fruit and grape crops in the region.
“The overall economic impact was substantial and highlights the importance of building a diverse and resilient economy.”
By contrast, Vancouver Island (inclusive Central Coast) saw employment out-pace population growth.
“It’s good to see that local labour markets were able to absorb newcomers to the region and even grow beyond that,” Woody Hayes, FCPA, said. “Given the region’s demographics, it’s important that we continue to attract skilled workers, especially in key industries.”
The picture was more mixed in B.C.'s Southwest. Home to more than 1.82 million workers, the region saw an unemployment rate of 6.5 per cent. Its employment rate remains high at 66.6 per cent — the second-highest rate in B.C. behind the Northwest — but the region's population growth has "significantly outpaced" job creation during the last year.
Looking at other regions, the Cariboo has seen its unemployment rate drop to 5.2 per cent in September, but labour participation is also dropping in the face of demographic changes. In the Kootenays, unemployment has hovered around 5.7 per cent during the past year, but labour participation has risen to 60 per cent. In B.C.'s Northeast, the unemployment rate stood at 5.7 per cent, but the labour participation continues to drop.
