Unemployment rises in Vernon and Okanagan

Statistics Canada is reporting a rise in the unemployment rate for the economic region that includes Vernon and the Okanagan.

After recording a jobless rate of 5.9 per cent in both January and February, the Thompson Okanagan region rose to 6.2 per cent in March.

The rate was the highest on record since October of 2021 when it was 6.5 per cent.

Though up on a month-to-month basis, the March figure was still well below the 8 per cent unemployment in March 2021.

While the jobless rate did increase, there were gains in the employment rate for the region which was 56.9 per cent in March, up from the 56.4 per cent rate in January.

It was also up by a full point compared to the 55.9 per cent in March of 2021.

British Columbia’s unemployment rate fell from 5.2 per cent in February to 5.1 per cent in March. That figure was well below the 7.4 per cent last March.

The province’s employment rate, meanwhile, rose to 61.1 per cent, up from the rate of 61 per cent the previous month. That was also up on an annual basis as the employment rate from last March was 60 per cent.

Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation, said B.C. continues to lead the country in economic recovery with eight straight months of job growth, and 10,500 new jobs in March.

“Supported by our StrongerBC Economic Plan, 94,500 more people are working in B.C. now than prior to the pandemic, the highest job recovery rate in Canada (103.6 per cent),” said Kahlon.

The national unemployment rate was up from 5.9 per cent in February to 6.1 per cent in March, though that was still well below the national unemployment rate of 8.8 per cent recorded in the same month last year.

Canada’s employment rate did see a slight dip, dropping to 60.5 per cent in March from the 60.6 per cent recorded in February. This March’s figure was still well up from the same month last year, when the employment rate was 58.4 per cent.

The figures from Statistics Canada are based on a three-month moving average and are unadjusted for seasonality.

Statistic Canada’s adjusted figures, which were only provided for the national rates, showed the employment rate rise 0.4 per cent on a month-to-month basis to 61.9 per cent in March, while the unemployment rate fell 0.2 per cent to 5.3 per cent.

Canada’s adjusted unemployment rate in March was the lowest it’s been since 1976, which when comparable data first started being recorded.