Working in regional BC
Job creation
While 2013 recorded a decline in employment numbers, 2014 saw
employment pick up, with the number of employed workers rising by
12,800 to reach approximately 2.3 million workers. Most of this
growth occurred in the Mainland/Southwest Development Region,
where the number of jobs increased by 28,700 new positions. The
Cariboo and Thompson-Okanagan Development Regions also saw
growth, with the number of employed workers increasing by 3,700
and 2,400 respectively. However, these gains were offset by job losses
in other regions, including the Vancouver Island/Coast and Kootenay
Development Regions, where numbers dropped by 10,200 and 9,000
respectively.
The goods sector accounted for 7,800 new jobs in BC in 2014,
marking an increase of 1.8% to a total of 450,000 jobs (manufacturing
increased by 9,700 new jobs; combined, resources and utilities increased by 5,700; and construction and agriculture lost 3,900 and 3,700
respectively). Employment in BC’s service sector also increased in
2014, growing by 5,000 jobs and reaching over 1.8 million (the largest
increases were in transportation and warehousing, which grew by
6,500 new jobs, and accommodation and food services, which grew
by 5,800; the largest decrease occurred in the business, building, and
other support services industry, which dropped by 10,900 jobs). While
overall growth in the service sector in 2014 was double that of 2013,
it was still fairly small compared to previous years.
Table 1: Employment in All Development Regions, 2009-2014 (000s)
Job Creation (000s)
Region
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
5-Year
2009-14
1-Year
2013-14
10.1
-3.0
98.2
-2.9
2.6
2.4
-21.1
86.5
8.5
77.9
3.7
-9.0
28.7
-1.6
-1.3
2.4
-10.2
12.8
7.8
5.0
Cariboo
Kootenay
Mainland/Southwest
Northwest BC*
Northeast
Thompson-Okanagan
Vancouve ȁ%ͱ