Local unemployment rate rose in October

The economic region that includes Vernon, Kelowna and the Okanagan saw the unemployment rate rise in October.

Data from Statistics Canada shows the Thompson-Okanagan area had an unadjusted unemployment rate of 4.9 per cent.

That figure is up from the 4.8 per cent unemployment rate in September and the 4.5 per cent rate recorded in October of 2021.

Meanwhile, the local employment rate was calculated at 59.4 per cent last month.

That was also down from the 59.8 per cent recorded in September and the 60.4 per cent rate from October 2021.

StatsCan did not provide data specific to Vernon, but did show that Kelowna had an adjusted unemployment rate of 4.3 per cent and an employment rate of 57.3 per cent in October.

Comparatively, Kelowna had an unemployment rate of 4.1 per cent and an employment rate of 57.7 per cent in September.

British Columbia as a whole had an adjusted unemployment rate of 4.2 per cent and an employment rate of 62.2 per cent.

The unemployment rate dropped from the 4.3 per cent rate in September, while the employment rate also rose from the previous month’s figure of 62 per cent.

“As we continue to make our way through 2022, British Columbia added nearly 10,000 new jobs in the month of October. With steady growth and one of the lowest unemployment rates in Canada, B.C. continues to be a leader in Canada’s economic recovery, even as new global challenges emerge,” said Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation, Ravi Kahlon.

“Last month, we saw significant growth in our manufacturing and construction sectors, which speaks to the efforts of so many to build the homes and infrastructure we need and help bolster and grow our supply chains so people can benefit from their products being made closer to home.”

Kahlon noted that B.C. is also leading the country in the women’s job recovery rate.

In October, the unemployment rate for women over the age of 25 in the province was 4 per cent while the employment rate was 59.1 per cent.

Those were improvements from the 4.5 per cent unemployment and 58.2 per cent employment rates for B.C. women in September.

Nationally, the unemployment rate was unchanged from September with a rate of 5.2 per cent calculated in October.

Canada’s employment rate was 61.9 per cent in October, up from September’s figure of 61.3 per cent.