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Employment Level Stable
BC gained 6,000 jobs in October on a seasonally adjusted basis, a small change of 0.3% from September. Full-time employment went down somewhat and part-time employment increased.
The unemployment rate was practically the same, 4.4% versus 4.3% in September, and the employment rate was similarly stable, 63.3% compared to 63.2% last month. Goods producing sectors had some job losses, while service producing sectors increased employment, and paid employment rose while self-employment did not.
Compared to a year ago, employment is up by 57,000 jobs, or by 2.6%. Full time employment accounts for nearly all of that, 50,000 jobs and a nearly 3% increase. Together, manufacturing and construction have gained over 20,000 jobs, and have had above-average increases of 4% and 7%, respectively. Agricultural employment has increased by an astonishing 7,000 jobs, or by 20%. The huge wholesale and retail trade group has added another 27,000 jobs in the last year, for a strong 8% increase, and transportation has increase by 8,000 jobs or 7%. There have been significant 5% to 8% drops in professional and management services which have cost the provincial labour market a total of nearly 18,000 jobs. These losses may indicate coming declines in construction, since they include many planning and control functions related to building and building maintenance.
In the provinces economic regions and metropolitan areas, the unemployment rate is under 5% everywhere, except in Region 940 Kootenay, where it's 5.8%, and in Region 960/970 North Coast Nechako, where it's 7.3%.
| Strong Labour Markets Across the West In Manitoba, employment grew 0.6% (+3,600) in October, bringing the increase since the start of 2007 to 2.5%. In October, Manitoba's employment rate reached an all-time high of 66.8%. The province also had the second lowest unemployment rate in Canada (4.0%). Although employment in British Columbia showed little change in October, it has grown 2.4% since the start of 2007, mainly due to strong growth in trade. In October, the unemployment rate in the province stood at 4.4%, among the lowest rates in Canada. Alberta's employment was little changed in October. However, the province continued to have the lowest unemployment rate in the country, at 3.4%, as well as Canada's highest employment rate (71.5%). Source: Statistics Canada Daily, November 2, 2007 |
Employment Increases Favour Younger Men and Older Women
Over the past twelve months, from October 2006 to October 2007, the total seasonally adjusted employment in BC has increased by 57,000 jobs, or by 2.6%. The gain has not been proportionate in all age - sex groups.
Men under 25 years have gained 19,000 jobs, while those 25 and older have gained 31,000. Women under 25 years have actually lost 6,000 jobs, while those 25 and older have gained 14,000. Looking at just the prime aged workers, those from 25 to 54 years of age, men have had gains of 13,000 jobs, while women in the same age group have lost about 4,000. Among older workers, 55 years and beyond, men have had job gains of 18,000, and so have women.
On a percentage basis the biggest increases have been among the younger men, with an 11% year to year increase, and among older women whose employment has risen by 13%. Among older men the increase was somewhat less, 9%. All other groups have more modest percentage changes ranging from -3% to +3%.
Summary of Labour Force Survey Results
Legend:
MC(#) = Absolute Monthly Change
MC(%) = Percentage Monthly Change
YC(#) = Absolute Yearly Change
YC(%) = Percentage Yearly Change
"- -" = indicates number suppressed due to high sample variance
| October 2007 | September 2007 | October 2006 | MC (#) | MC (%) | YC (#) | YC (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population 15+ (000) | 3,591.4 | 3,585.2 | 3,528.9 | 6.2 | 0.2 | 62.5 | 1.8 |
| Labour Force (000) | 2,376.2 | 2,369.5 | 2,325.1 | 6.7 | 0.3 | 51.1 | 2.2 |
| Employed (000) | 2,272.6 | 2,266.8 | 2,215.2 | 5.8 | 0.3 | 57.4 | 2.6 |
| Emp-Full-Time (000) | 1,816.0 | 1,820.0 | 1,766.3 | -4.0 | -0.2 | 49.7 | 2.8 |
| Emp-Part-Time (000) | 456.6 | 446.8 | 449.0 | 9.8 | 2.2 | 7.6 | 1.7 |
| Unemployed (000) | 103.6 | 102.6 | 109.9 | 1.0 | 1.0 | -6.3 | -5.7 |
| Unemployment Rate (%) | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 0.1 | -0.3 | ||
| Participation Rate (%) | 66.2 | 66.1 | 65.9 | 0.1 | 0.3 | ||
| Employment Rate (%) | 63.3 | 63.2 | 62.8 | 0.1 | 0.5 |
| October 2007 | September 2007 | October 2006 | MC (#) | MC (%) | YC (#) | YC (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Industry (000) | 2,272.6 | 2,266.8 | 2,215.2 | 5.8 | 0.3 | 57.4 | 2.6 |
| Goods-Producing | 499.6 | 502.7 | 468.8 | -3.1 | -0.6 | 30.8 | 6.6 |
| Agriculture | 40.7 | 37.9 | 33.8 | 2.8 | 7.4 | 6.9 | 20.4 |
| Forestry, Fishing, Mining, Oil & Gas | 46.8 | 45.0 | 47.0 | 1.8 | 4.0 | -0.2 | -0.4 |
| Utilities | 12.7 | 10.6 | 10.0 | 2.1 | 19.8 | 2.7 | 27.0 |
| Construction | 194.6 | 199.6 | 181.6 | -5.0 | -2.5 | 13.0 | 7.2 |
| Manufacturing | 204.7 | 209.6 | 196.4 | -4.9 | -2.3 | 8.3 | 4.2 |
| Service-Producing | 1,772.9 | 1,764.2 | 1,746.4 | 8.7 | 0.5 | 26.5 | 1.5 |
| Trade | 373.6 | 366.3 | 344.7 | 7.3 | 2.0 | 28.9 | 8.4 |
| Transport & Warehousing | 122.3 | 120.8 | 114.0 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 8.3 | 7.3 |
| Fin, Ins, Real Estate, Leasing | 142.6 | 143.8 | 143.4 | -1.2 | -0.8 | -0.8 | -0.6 |
| Prof, Sci, Tech Services | 161.8 | 162.7 | 170.5 | -0.9 | -0.6 | -8.7 | -5.1 |
| Mngmt, Admin, Other Support | 100.1 | 103.2 | 109.0 | -3.1 | -3.0 | -8.9 | -8.2 |
| Education Services | 157.9 | 159.3 | 160.0 | -1.4 | -0.9 | -2.1 | -1.3 |
| Health/Social Ass't | 243.7 | 236.5 | 238.9 | 7.2 | 3.0 | 4.8 | 2.0 |
| Info, Culture & Rec | 112.2 | 113.5 | 109.4 | -1.3 | -1.1 | 2.8 | 2.6 |
| Accom & food serv | 171.6 | 172.8 | 176.3 | -1.2 | -0.7 | -4.7 | -2.7 |
| Other Services | 90.3 | 88.5 | 89.9 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Public Admin | 96.6 | 96.9 | 90.5 | -0.3 | -0.3 | 6.1 | 6.7 |
| October 2007 | September 2007 | October 2006 | MC (#) | MC (%) | YC (#) | YC (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 2,272.6 | 2,266.8 | 2,215.2 | 5.8 | 0.3 | 57.4 | 2.6 |
| Employee (000) | 1,854.4 | 1,846.7 | 1,787.4 | 7.7 | 0.4 | 67.0 | 3.7 |
| Public | 408.6 | 402.0 | 398.8 | 6.6 | 1.6 | 9.8 | 2.5 |
| Private | 1,445.8 | 1,444.7 | 1,388.6 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 57.2 | 4.1 |
| Self-Employed (000) | 418.2 | 420.1 | 427.9 | -1.9 | -0.5 | -9.7 | -2.3 |
| October 2007 | September 2007 | October 2006 | MC (#) | YC (#) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Both - 15+ Yrs | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 0.1 | -0.3 |
| Both - 15-24 Yrs | 7.5 | 8.1 | 8.5 | -0.6 | -1.0 |
| Both - 25+ Yrs | 3.8 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 0.2 | -0.2 |
| Men - 15+ Yrs | 4.3 | 3.7 | 4.8 | 0.6 | -0.5 |
| Men - 15-24 Yrs | 7.9 | 7.1 | 9.5 | 0.8 | -1.6 |
| Men - 25+ Yrs | 3.6 | 3.1 | 4.0 | 0.5 | -0.4 |
| Women - 15+ Yrs | 4.4 | 5.0 | 4.6 | -0.6 | -0.2 |
| Women - 15-24 Yrs | 7.0 | 9.1 | 7.5 | -2.1 | -0.5 |
| Women - 25+ Yrs | 3.9 | 4.2 | 4.0 | -0.3 | -0.1 |
| October 2007 | September 2007 | October 2006 | MC (#) | YC (#) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 5.8 | 5.9 | 6.1 | -0.1 | -0.3 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 13.5 | 13.6 | 14.2 | -0.1 | -0.7 |
| Prince Edward Island | 8.8 | 10.5 | 11.1 | -1.7 | -2.3 |
| Nova Scotia | 7.6 | 8.0 | 8.1 | -0.4 | -0.5 |
| New Brunswick | 7.6 | 8.2 | 8.1 | -0.6 | -0.5 |
| Quebec | 6.9 | 6.9 | 7.7 | 0.0 | -0.8 |
| Ontario | 6.0 | 6.2 | 6.3 | -0.2 | -0.3 |
| Manitoba | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.2 | -0.2 | -0.2 |
| Saskatchewan | 4.3 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Alberta | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.0 | -0.2 | 0.4 |
| British Columbia | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 0.1 | -0.3 |
| Abbotsford | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Vancouver | 4.1 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 0.4 | -0.1 |
| Victoria | 3.2 | 3.8 | 3.9 | -0.6 | -0.7 |
| October 2007 | September 2007 | October 2006 | MC (#) | YC (#) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 5.7 | 6.0 | 6.1 | -0.3 | -0.4 |
| British Columbia | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.7 | -0.1 | -0.5 |
| 910 Vancouver Island | 3.9 | 4.3 | 5.2 | -0.4 | -1.3 |
| 920 Lower Mainland - SW | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 0.0 | -0.1 |
| 930 Thompson Okanagan | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.7 | -0.4 | -1.0 |
| 940 Kootenay | 5.8 | 5.6 | 5.5 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| 950 Cariboo | 4.7 | 5.4 | 5.3 | -0.7 | -0.6 |
| 960/970 N. Coast/Nechako | 7.3 | 7.0 | 7.2 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| 980 Northeast | - - | - - | 5.2 | - - | - - |
| Vancouver CMA | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 0.0 | -0.1 |
| Victoria CMA | 3.7 | 4.3 | 4.4 | -0.6 | -0.7 |
| Abbotsford (Matsqui) | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.0 | -0.1 | 0.5 |
From: http://www1.servicecanada.gc.ca/en/bc-yk/59/jwtc/lmi/lfs1007.shtml