Monday, August 09, 2010

Northwest Joblessness tops the province

11.8 per cent, that's the latest statistic on unemployment for the Northwest, a double digit number that leads the province by far in reported cases of those that are unemployed. That's an increase from the 11.4 per cent reported in July.

The Unemployment numbers in the region peaked in May when the Northwest reported 12.8 per cent unemployment for the Northwest.

The average unemployment rate in the province was 7.6 with 16,000 jobs reported as created in July.  A growth attributed to the increase of part time jobs in the province. Nationally the unemployment rate is set at 8 per cent for July.

Total employment in Northwestern BC dropped from 41,900 in 2009 to 39,900 last month, though part of that number could also be attributed to the continual drop in the population of the region, which continues to lose residents seeking other opportunities elsewhere.

The reporting region stretches from Haida Gwaii to west of Vanderhoof and takes into account those that consider themselves part of the available workforce.

Not included in the Unemployment statistics are those that have exhausted their EI claims or have been without work past the EI claim period. A number that if ever tabulated properly, would most likely add a few percentage points to the real unemployment picture.

Terrace Standard-- Northwest Jobless rate highest
Vancouver Province-- BC unemployment rate falls on new part time jobs
Vancouver Sun-- B.C. bucks national jobs loss trend, posts 16,000 gain with manufacturing, service-sector positions

Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It doesn't count the few business owners who closed that can't collect EI through the region. There are probably many more that miss the statistical inclusion.

. said...

Thanks for the contribution.

That's a valid point, especially considering the number of closures we've seen in the city over the last few years. Would be interesting if we had a more comprehensive method of tracking unemployment, the current model has so many flaws it seems.

There is it would seem a large number of people that are falling through the reporting cracks, folks on welfare, business owners that have gone out of business and such, the monthly figures it would seem don't really provide a full picture.