Unemployment
BC’s unemployment rate decreased between 2013 and 2014, dropping from 6.6% to 6.1%, the lowest unemployment rate this province has seen
since 2009. Only three of the eight Development Regions saw a decrease in this indicator, however: the Mainland/Southwest and ThompsonOkanagan Development Regions, where unemployment dropped by 0.7 percentage points (ppt), and the Vancouver Island/Coast Development
Region, where unemployment dropped by 0.2 ppt despite a significant loss of jobs last year. This decrease in the Vancouver Island/Coast Development Region was due solely to a reduction of 11,800 workers, many of whom withdrew from the labour force.
By contrast, both the Northeast and Cariboo Development Regions saw unemployment rates increase by 0.1 ppt in 2014, and the Kootenay
Development Region and Northwest BC experienced more dramatic increases of 1.0 and 1.1 ppt respectively.
Table 2: Unemployment Rate in All Development Regions, 2009-2014
Percentage point
change
Region
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Cariboo
Kootenay
Mainland/Southwest
Northwest BC**
Northeast
Thompson-Okanagan
Vancouver Island/Coast
British Columbia
12.1
9.0
7.3
10.3
7.0
8.7
7.1
7.7
8.4
9.4
7.5
9.6
6.8
8.8
6.3
7.6
7.5
8.0
7.4
8.6
5.1
7.8
7.8
7.5
7.0
7.0
6.9
11.0
4.1
7.1
6.2
6.8
5.9
5.9
6.7
6.9
4.8
7.0
6.3
6.6
6.0
6.9
6.0
8.0
4.9
6.3
6.1
6.1
5-Year
2009-14
1-Year
2013-14
-6.1
-2.1
-1.3
-2.3
-2.1
-2.4
-1.0
-1.6
0.1
1.0
-0.7
1.1
0.1
-0.7
-0.2
-0.5
Source: Statistics Canada
*Unemployment rate is calculated by author.
**Northwest BC includes both the North Coast and Nechako Development Regions.
Investing in regional BC
Business and investment activity
At the end of the third quarter of 2014,5 there were 980 major projects6 proposed (467), underway (406), completed (30), or on hold (77) in BC,
with a combined value of $304.1 billion.7 Residential/commercial projects comprised almost 52% of these projects; utilities, mining, oil and gas
extraction, transportation and warehousing, public services, manufacturing, and other services accounted for the rest.
While over half of the major projects in the third quarter of 2014 were located in the Mainland/Southwest Development Region, it was the
North Coast Development Region that had the greatest value of estimated capital costs, despite having a much smaller number of projects. This
was due entirely to the magnitude of the proposed energy, mining, and transportation projects in this region, which totalled $99.8 billion or 49%
of the value of all major projects proposed in BC. However, given that some of the LNG projects proposed for the North Coast Development
Region have been deferred and others in this area and in the Northeast Development Region are in various stages of the planning process, there
is no guarantee that these projects will proceed as intended.
5
n the absence of Major Projects Inventory (MPI) data from BC Stats for the fourth quarter of 2014, we’ve based our analysis on information
I
from the third quarter. The MPI data for the fourth quarter was released on May 12, 2015, after the CPABC Regional Check-Up report had been
completed. A subsequent comparison of the third- and fourth-quarter 2014 MPI results showed that the combined value of all major projects in
BC rose by $19.2 billion between the quarters. Projects in the proposal stage were revised upward by $20.2 billion, mostly due to changes in the
North Coast Development Region.
C Stats defines major projects as those in the mining, oil and gas, manufacturing, transportation, utilities, hotel, and residential construction
B
6
industries with a capital value of $20 million or higher in the Lower Mainland/Vancouver area, and $15 million or higher in all other regions of
the province.
C Stats, BC Major Projects Inventory, September 2014.
B
7
16 CPABC in Focus • July/August 2015