The city's unemployment rate climbed to 8.8% in March, according to Statistics Canada labour market survey numbers issued Thursday.
The jump from 5.9% for the same month last year - and from 7.6% in February - comes as no surprise given the economic wallop the COVID-19 pandemic has delivered.
The number of people holding down jobs stood at 43,400, a drop of 4,500 year-over-year and a decline of 1,600 month-over-month, while those looking for work totaled 4,200, a rise of 1,200 from March 2019 and 500 from February, while 25,700 were not participating, an increase of 3,800 from the same month last year and 1,100 from the month before.
For the province as a whole, 132,000 jobs were lost pushing B.C.'s unemployment rate to 7.2%.
Finance Minister Carole James held out little hope going forward.
"These are early indicators. I do believe we're going to see tougher numbers coming," James said at a news conference.
She said the statistics cover the period from March 15 to March 21 when the pandemic started taking hold in B.C. and businesses began laying off workers or closing.
"This is a difficult time for our families, our province and our country," said James. "All of us are seeing everyday the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is having and the serious impact it's having on people and economies around the world. It's no exception in B.C."
Statistics Canada reported the COVID-19 crisis cost more than one million jobs across the country last month, pushing the unemployment rate to 7.8%.
James said B.C.'s $5-billion action plan to help workers, families and businesses during the pandemic builds on the federal government's business subsidies and loans.
The B.C. plan includes $1.5 billion to help recovery efforts, but it's too early to forecast a rebound, she said.
"I don't have a crystal ball," James said. "No one can really predict when we're going to see that kind of turnaround. As I've said, our best efforts are to follow the public health advice that's coming to make sure we're doing everything we can."
B.C. public health officials say physical distancing, frequent hand washing and self-isolating if feeling sick are proven methods to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The COVID-19 prevention plan also requires travellers returning to B.C. from abroad to provide officials with a written plan on how they'll self-isolate for 14 days or they will face quarantine.
- with files from Canadian Press
