Prince George’s unemployment grew by 0.5 percentage points in January, rising for a third straight month.
The city’s unemployment rate rose to 5.9 per cent in January, according to data released by Statistics Canada on Friday. That’s up from 5.4 per cent in December, 4.2 per cent in November and 3.5 per cent in October. In January 2022, the city’s unemployment rate was 3.4 per cent.
As of January, 52,300 people were holding down jobs in the city, while 3,000 people were actively looking for work, Statistics Canada reported. By comparison, in January 2022 there were 54,300 people employed in the city and 1,900 people actively job hunting.
The city’s labour force participation rate – the percentage of working-age adults working or actively seeking work – was 64.6 per cent in January, down from 68.5 per cent in January 2022.
In January, Prince George’s unemployment rate was higher than the provincial (4.4 per cent) and national (five per cent) averages.
While Prince George has seen a downward trend over the past three months, the overall provincial picture remains strong, according to B.C. Jobs Minister Brenda Bailey.
"B.C's growth was steady with the addition of 22,000 new full-time jobs in January, while our unemployment rate remains near all-time historic lows at 4.4 (per cent); one of the lowest in the country,” Bailey said in a statement released on Friday. “B.C.'s total job growth in January was 7,700, reflecting a loss of part-time positions coming out of the holiday period.”
