The unemployment rate in the greater BԪַ area rose from 4.7 per cent in November to 5.0 per cent in December, Statistics Canada reported Friday.
A total of 6,100 people are now jobless in the Central Okanagan, up from 5,500 in November.
Victoria, the provincial capital and a region with a high number of government jobs, continues to have the provinceBԪַ lowest jobless rate, at just 3.6 per cent, down from 3.7 per cent in November. The unemployment rate in Vancouver is 6.3 per cent, and itBԪַ 5.7 per cent in Abbotsford-Mission.
The uptick in unemployment in BԪַ was counter to the national trend. Across Canada, the jobless rate declined 0.1 percentage points, to 6.7 per cent.
In response to the new data, the NDP governmentnoted BԪַBԪַ overall jobless rate of six per cent is third-lowest in Canada, and below the national average of 6.7 per cent.
“BԪַ closes out 2024 on a positive note with a gain of 14,100 jobs in December, even as slow global economic growth and the threat of proposed U.S. tariffs continue to be felt across Canada,” minister of jobs Diana Gibson said in a release.
But Gavin Dew, the BC Conservative shadow minister for economic development, said much of the provinceBԪַ job growth is coming in the form of government jobs.
“Since the pandemic, the NDP has relied on public sector hiring to pad their numbers. ThatBԪַ not real economic growth - thatBԪַ taxpayers footing the bill for government expansion while the private sector struggles to create opportunities,” said Dew, the BC Conservative MLA for BԪַ Mission.
Across the country, average hourly wages were up nearly four per cent on a year-over-year basis, rising to $35.77, Statscan said.
