The city's unemployment rate stood at an estimated 4.2 per cent in December, according to Statistics Canada labour market survey numbers released Friday, a 0.3-point decline from an already rock-bottom 4.5 per cent the month before.
However, from the month before, the number of people working declined by 400 to 50,700, while the number unemployed and not seeking work rose by 700 to 17,800. The number of unemployed seeking work dropped by 200 to 2,200.
As well, the number of people of working age in Prince George declined by 700 to 52,800, indicating people are leaving the city to find work.
It was also an unprecedented 10th-straight month the total employed in Prince George stayed above the 50,000 mark. The previous longest stretch was six months, ending in December 2012 and peaked in September 2012 at 52,500, the highest in the city's history.
The unemployment rate for December last year was also 4.2 per cent, with 49,600 people working while a further 2,200 were seeking work. And 18,800 people of working age were not participating in the workforce, which totaled 51,900 at the time.
The figures are based on a three-month rolling average and do not say how many are working full-time and part-time.
