
A WorkBC Centre office/via Government of BC
BC’s Jobs minister is suggesting there will likely be a turnaround in the employment figures in Kamloops, despite a steady rise in unemployment since December.
The latest figures from Stats Canada show the unemployment rate in Kamloops census metropolitan area hit 7.5% last month, up from 7.1% in March.
This, despite adding 3,200 jobs last month.
“Kamloops had the highest job growth this month, over all the major cities,” noted Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation Minister Diana Gibson in conversation with Radio NL following the release of the Stats Canada figures on Friday. “It [Kamloops CMA] beat out Victoria, which usually takes the lead on job growth.”
Among the seven census metropolitan areas that Statistics Canada monitors in British Columbia, Kamloops now has the highest unemployment rate at 7.5%.
By comparison, the unemployment rate in Kelowna last month dipped from 6.7% to 6.6%.
Chilliwack’s jobless rate went from 5.9% to 5.3%.
Nanaimo, which is comparative in size to Kamloops as far as population is concerned, saw its unemployment rate tick up 0.1% to 6.1% last month.
The jobless rate in Kamloops has been on the rise since December, where the city and surrounding region had one of the lowest unemployment rates in the province at 4.3%.
“We do see that strong job growth in Kamloops, which we’re really happy to see. I know you guys have been working really hard to kind of build that economic development profile for the region,” said Gibson, who suggests there will likely be a turnaround in the unemployment figures in the months ahead. “I’ve met with leadership from there and businesses, and really happy to see the diverse economic activity happening in Kamloops. That’s helping you be resilient. We are expecting a bump in the tourism numbers like we saw during COVID.”
Gibson says she thinks there’s going to be increased demand for workers as inter-Canadian trade heats up as well.
“I hear that from a lot of the businesses, like the wineries of course, but a lot of other businesses that are exporting to the US, that the pivot for them is to export across Canada,” added Gibson. “I’ve been meeting with my counterparts in the other provinces, and we’re really working at the federal table to make that difference on inter-provincial trade, so BC products can be on the shelf across Canada.”
Despite 1,900 jobs being lost in April in the resource and construction sectors, that was offset by 1,900 jobs being added in wholesale and retail trade, as well as transportation and warehousing.
Some 5,000 jobs were also added in the service sector in Kamloops in April, on top of 1,200 jobs in health care and social assistance.