Valley getting back to 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.

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 since.