More people in Prince George found their way into the workforce during the month of March with the unemployment falling to 6.5%.
That’s a steep decline from the same time last year where it was just under 8.0%.
“We saw employment grow to 50,300 last month, a year ago it was 46,900 so there was an increase of about 3,400,” says Vincent Ferrao, Labour Division Analyst, Statistics Canada.
A number of sectors within the Prince George-Cariboo region benefitted from the recent employment surge.
“We saw a little bit of growth in manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade went up and a little bit in real estate financial insurance and leasing.”
The spike saw an even split of people taking full and part-time work.
Looking at the province, BC remains ahead of the curb when it comes to unemployment.
The jobless rate continued to lead the country.
“The unemployment rate over this 12-month period fell by point-six percentage points so it is currently at 4.7%.”
That’s a full point higher than the national rate of 5.8%.
BC’s job sector grew by about 33,000 during this time.
Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island had the highest jobless rates among the provinces at 14.2% and 10.3% respectively.