Valley getting back to the business of work

Kelowna’s economy continues to run counter to national trends with a further decline in the local unemployment rate in December.

The greater Kelowna area added 1,700 jobs last month, triggering a decline in the unemployment rate from 4.7% to 4.5%.

As it was in December, Kelowna has the country’s second-lowest jobless rate, behind only Quebec City at 4.1%

But it was a different story nationally, as employment across Canada fell for the first time since April 2020. The national jobless rate rose from 8.5% in November to 8.6% in December as the country’s recovery from the financial effects of COVID-19 wobbled.

“Employment fell in industries most directly affected by new and continuing public health measures, including accommodation and food services, personal services, information, culture, and recreation,” Statistics Canada said today.

Part-time employment also dropped in

December (down 2.9%), along with the number of Canadians over 55 who were working (down 5.1%), and the number of self-employed workers (down 6.6%)

The national unemployment rate was also affected by stalled job growth, after monthly gains averaging 2.2%, in the populous regions of Ontario and Quebec

But in the greater Kelowna area, which includes West Kelowna, Lake Country and Peachland, total employment rose from 110,100 in November to 111,600 in December.

Those people looking for work but unemployed fell from 5,200 to 5,000. The region’s population increased (from 170,800 to 171,100), as did the total labour force (from 110,100 to 111,600), so the decline in unemployment was not due to people becoming discouraged in their search for work and moving away.

Greater Kelowna’s unemployment rate in March 2020, before the pandemic shuttered many business and caused widespread layoffs, was 5.9%.

Unemployment in the Central Okanagan peaked in June at 10.2%, and has fallen in every one of the six months since then.