The province’s unemployment rate fell 0.3 percent to 5.9 percent.
Article content
There was little change in British Columbia’s economy in September, although the province added 12,300 jobs when children returned to school, according to Statistics Canada’s Workforce Survey on Friday.
Article content
The unemployment rate fell by 0.3 percent to 5.9 percent, and BC remains the only province with employment notably above its pre-pandemic level.
Overall, in Canada, the unemployment rate declined for the fourth consecutive month, falling 0.2 percentage points to 6.9%, the lowest rate since the start of the pandemic, but has not yet reached the pre-pandemic rate of 5, 7%.
The country added 157,000 jobs, mainly in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan.
Modest increases in BC employment occurred in part-time work, which was offset by losses in full-time employment. Most of the new work was in the education, public administration, and services sectors, with slight increases in agriculture, natural resources and information, culture, and recreation.
Article content
Canada’s job increase in September was driven by a large increase in full-time positions, which also returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Women, who absorbed the brunt of the recession early, are now doing better than men, at least when it comes to full-time work. Their better luck reflects the recovery of employment in health, education and food services, which were disproportionately affected by health restrictions.
Full-time employment for women was 1.7 percent higher in September than in February 2020, while full-time employment for men was down 1.2 percent, Statistics Canada said.
Full-time employment for women was 1.7 percent higher in September than in February 2020, while full-time employment for men was down 1.2 percent, Statistics Canada said.
-with Postmedia files
Reference-vancouversun.com