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February 10, 2025 - 6:00 PM
All eyes are on the economy because of the American tariff threats, but Kamloops missed out on some of the good news coming out of the job market.
Between January 2024 and January 2025 Kamloops’ unemployment rate went up by 1.9 per cent and Kelowna’s went down by 0.4 per cent, according to Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey.
“We’re standing strong and defending British Columbians, workers, and industries against tariff threats from the United States. We are encouraged by the news that there will be a 30-day pause on the tariffs. Now, it’s full steam ahead on strengthening our economy to defend B.C. from this threat,” B.C. Minister of Jobs Diana Gibson said in a statement in response to the Statistics Canada survey.
In December, the unemployment rate in Kelowna was 5.2 per cent and in January it was 4.9 per cent, and in Kamloops it went from 4.3 per cent to 4.9 per cent in the same time span.
The national unemployment rate had a 0.1 per cent decline to 6.6 per cent in the past two months, but over the last year it rose from 6.1 per cent.
“B.C.’s unemployment rate is 6.0 per cent, one of the lowest unemployment rates among provinces and below the national average of 6.6 per cent. B.C.’s average hourly wage is $37.53, the highest among provinces,” Gibson said. “Today's Labour Force Survey data shows a growth of 8,700 jobs in manufacturing, 6,100 in retail trade and 5,200 in construction, among other types of jobs. Construction has gained 24,500 jobs, compared to this time last year.”
Thompson-Okanagan’s unemployment rate went from 4.9 per cent in 2024 to 5.2 per cent a month into 2025. Last year, there were 15,000 folks without jobs in the area and now there are 16,600.
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Although some local, regional trends aren’t entirely encouraging the national trend is still heading in the right direction.
“The unemployment rate declined 0.1 percentage points to 6.6 per cent in January, marking the second consecutive monthly decline from a recent peak of 6.9 per cent in November 2024. The unemployment rate had previously increased 1.9 percentage points from March 2023 to November 2024, as labour market conditions cooled after a period of low unemployment rates and high job vacancies following the COVID-19 pandemic,” Statistics Canada said in its report.
Young people getting into the workforce seems to have been the driver for the national unemployment rate drop.
“The decline in the overall unemployment rate in January was driven by youth aged 15 to 24, whose unemployment rate fell 0.6 percentage points to 13.6 per cent, down from a recent high of 14.2 per cent in August and December 2024,” Statistics Canada said.
Kelowna’s numbers are in a better position than those in Kamloops and the Thompson-Okanagan region as a whole, but Gibson said it’s time to double down and keep labour figures heading in the right direction.
“The current global uncertainty posed by potential tariffs from the United States puts all of this at risk. That’s why we’re taking action to defend B.C. jobs in the face of this threat,” she said.
BC Conservative Kelowna-Mission MLA Gavin Dew took the opportunity to criticize the BC NDP.
“Job growth isn’t keeping up with population growth, wages aren’t keeping up with inflation, and public sector jobs keep outpacing the private sector that pays for them. The NDP keeps expanding government while private businesses struggle,” Dew said on X.com.
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