Turnaround in local job market
Kelowna and the Central Okanagan continued a strong job performance in June with unemployment dropping another half point to four per cent, according to the latest Statistics Canada labour force survey.
Business and government in the Kelowna census metropolitan area continued a remarkable run, adding 2,000 jobs last month on top of 3,000 in May, the survey shows despite national job losses in June.
An unemployment rate of four per cent puts Kelowna almost a full percentage point lower than the Canadian average of 4.9 per cent last month.
The unemployment number is made more remarkable by the fact Kelowna held one of the highest jobless rates in the country at 7.2 per cent as recently as January.
The national rate is itself a decades-old historic low with the total number of unemployed workers sitting at approximately one million across the country after dropping for four consecutive months.
However, Statistics Canada attributes the drop in the unemployment rate to fewer people looking for work with the decline in the national labour force participation only adding to hiring difficulties.
Kelowna’s census metropolitan area had a population of 188,300 in June, up slightly from last month while the labour force remained unchanged at 117,400.
Labour participation in the Central Okanagan dropped slightly last month from 62,500 to 62,300.
For its part, the NDP B.C. government praised the “strong, clean and inclusive growth” in the province that added 6,100 news jobs in June.
Minister of Jobs Ravi Kahlon said in a press release the province’s unemployment rate held steady at 4.6 per cent, down from 6.4 per cent a year ago.
Statistics Canada is also reporting long term unemployment has returned to pre-pandemic levels for the first time.
Despite the historic unemployment lows, the Bank of Canada is expected to raise its key interest rate on Wednesday, the Canadian Press is reporting, with most economists predicting a hike of three-quarters of a percentage point.
However a recent study from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives warned rapidly increasing interest rates will likely send the Canadian economy into a recession and could cause significant "collateral damage," including 850,000 job losses.