June saw the unemployment rate hit a new high in Kamloops during the pandemic, albeit not by much.

The unemployment rate is now 12.4 per cent, which is up from 10.3 per cent in May and 12.3 per cent in April.

For the Thompson-Okanagan as a whole, the unemployment rate is now 10.3 per cent.

Finance Minister Carole James says the provincial unemployment rate is now 13 per cent.

“B.C.’s unemployment rate remains higher as more people look to enter the workforce. That may reflect an increase in the demand for jobs, as well as an increase in confidence that people will have the opportunity to go back to work as they start looking again.”

B.C.’s job losses are now at about 235,000, compared to more than 396,000 job losses earlier in the pandemic.

The province actually gained 118,000 jobs in June, and James says about half of those were in the hospitality sector.

Meanwhile, there are now 613,555 people who have received the tax-free $1,000-dollar payment from the federal government, called the B.C. Emergency Worker Benefit. That equates to $613.5 million being provided by the B.C. government, with money that is part of its $5-billion-dollar COVID-19 relief package.