Construction had a big impact on employment growth in the Thompson-Okanagan over the past year.

(ROB MUNRO / iNFOnews.ca)

Over the past year there were 13,000 new full-time jobs created in the Thompson-Okanagan region although there were 200 fewer part-time jobs.

That data comes from the Chartered Professional Accountants of B.C.’s annual report of employment to the end of September released today, Oct. 25.

While there has been job growth over 2020, the overall employment rate in B.C. is still lower than it was in 2019 and does not make up for the increase in new workers.

The employment rate for B.C. for September was 5.9% compared to 8.6% in 2020 but still higher than the 4.9% in 2019 before COVID-19 hit.

While the total number of people working in B.C. was up by 28,200 in September of this year versus 2019, there was an increase of 107,000 people of working age in the province.

“Despite the strong employment gains over the past year, the number of unemployed individuals has increased by nearly a quarter compared to September 2019,” association president Lori Mathison said in a news release.

And employment improvements have been unevenly distributed.

In the Thompson-Okanagan, for example, employment in health care was up 7.9% in the last year and up 19.7% in financial services. At the same time, the wholesale and retail trade sector was down by 12.6%.

In the goods sector, construction was up by 23.4% in the region but overall employment growth for the entire sector was up by only 0.7% with manufacturing down 3.6%.

“In a recent survey of Chartered Professional Accountants in B.C., nearly four-fifths identified labour shortages as a major challenge to business success in 2021,” Mathison said. “At the same time, many British Columbians remain displaced from employment. Going forward, it will be important to have policies that support skills training, with a particular focus on industries facing the greatest scarcity of labour.”

Overall, there were 305,400 people working in the Thompson-Okanagan in September.

READ MORE: 'Sunshine Tax' and EI making it tough to find workers in Okanagan

To contact a reporter for this story, email Rob Munro or call 250-808-0143 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

News from © iNFOnews, 2021