Unemployment in Prince George dropped below pre-pandemic levels in February, according to data released by Statistics Canada on Friday.
The unemployment rate in the city dropped to 6.4 per cent in February, down from 6.8 per cent in January. In February, 2020, the city's unemployment rate stood at 7.7 per cent.
"One year into this pandemic, British Columbia has returned to 99.4 (per cent) of pre-pandemic employment levels. B.C.'s economy remains one of the strongest in Canada, having created jobs in each of the past 10 months," B.C. Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation Ravi Kahlon said in a press release. "In fact, employment in some parts of the province is above pre-pandemic levels. For example, Prince George is at 106.7 (per cent) and Kamloops is at 103.3 (per cent)."
A larger percentage of the city's population were taking part in the workforce in February this year than last year as well. The participation rate – the percentage of people employed or actively seeking employment – stood at 69.5 per cent in February, up from 66.9 per cent a year before.
Statistics Canada estimated the city's labour force at 56,100 people last month, with approximately 52,500 working and 3,600 seeking work.
The city's unemployment rate was below the provincial average.
"The Labour Force Survey for February shows B.C. added 26,600 jobs, with the majority of those jobs going to women. This dropped B.C.'s unemployment rate to 6.9 (per cent) from (eight per cent) in January, the month before," Kahlon said. "While this does not mean all sectors are back to full strength, it does mean that even as our tourism and hospitality sectors continue to struggle, our economy is growing."
However, B.C. Liberal jobs critic Todd Stone said there are still more then 15,000 fewer jobs in B.C. and the gains have been mostly made in part-time jobs and the public sector.
The province's labour underutilization rate – a measure that includes people involuntarily working part-time instead of full-time and people who have stopped job hunting – remains high at 11.2 per cent, Stone said in a press release. Women are overrepresented in those areas, he added.
“The devil is in the details as broad, sustainable economic recovery can only happen if it’s led by the private sector,” Stone said. “The first step in creating well-paid private sector full-time jobs and helping women regain footing in the labour market must be the immediate creation and implementation of a sector-by-sector jobs plan. John Horgan also needs to bring targeted help tailored to the needs of women, who make up the bulk of the workforce in hard-hit sectors such as tourism.”
