The unemployment rate in British Columbia has risen slightly over the past month, but in Greater Victoria it has fallen to the lowest rate among Canada’s largest cities.
Statistics Canada released their latest numbers which show the unemployment rate in Victoria has fallen from 4.5 per cent to 3.8 per cent from September to October 2017. That’s below the provincial average of 4.9 per cent and far below the national average of 6.3 per cent.
Unemployment in the province has held relatively steady for the past four months following a strong downtrend that began in the spring of 2016. It currently sits at the lowest rate in Canada, with the Maritime provinces taking the four highest spots.
Overall the economy added 35,300 jobs across Canada in October, but the unemployment rate crept higher with more young people looking for work. The agency said the number of full-time positions jumped by 88,700 but that was mitigated by a drop of 53,400 part-time jobs.
Compared to a year ago, employment was up by 308,100 jobs as the number of full-time jobs increased by 396,800 and the number of part-time positions fell by 88,700.
- With files from The Canadian Press
