The city's unemployment rate stood at 6.8 per cent in November, a 0.4-percentage-point decline from the month before, according to Statistics Canada labour market survey numbers released Friday.
However, the number of people holding down jobs declined by 800 to 49,400 while the number of working age but not seeking employment rose by 1,100. November was also the first in four months that the number of people employed in the city dipped below 50,000.
The total unemployed but seeking work stood at 3,600, a decline of 300 people.
Initiatives Prince George economic analyst Tara Bogh said the drop in the number of people employed could be due to seasonal factors.
"It's not atypical that we would see a slight decline as we head into the winter months, especially if we look at industries like construction," Bogh said.
The city continues to see growth in the service sectors - from retail to health to education.
"I think it really speaks to the diversification of our local economy which really gives you a greater underlying strength," Bogh said.
The unemployment rate hovered around the six-per-cent mark for much of the year but began to rise in the summer to peak at 7.4 per cent in August. Bogh said the current rate remains under seven per cent but not so low that labour shortages are a significant concern.
Prince George bucked a trend that saw the province's unemployment rate rise 0.4 of a point to seven per cent and the national rate increase 0.1 of a point to 7.4 per cent.
"We seem to be in a very positive little pocket of the province and that's just tied to all of the natural resource activity that's going throughout Northern B.C.," Bogh said.
It was a slightly better picture for Prince George at the same time last year, when the unemployment rate stood at 6.4 per cent, 49,600 were working and 3,400 were out of work but seeking a job.
