BCREA Posts Economic News

Following is the Labour Force Survey for our region from BCREA ECONOMICS NOW.

Labour Force Survey – February 4, 2010

Canada added an astounding 69,500 jobs in January, the strongest job growth since April of last year. However, an expanding workforce pushed the national unemployment rate up 0.2 points to 7.8%. BC lost jobs for the second consecutive month, shedding 9,100 jobs which pushed the provincial unemployment rate up 0.6 points to 8.2%. On a positive note, the job losses were concentrated in part-time employment and BC actually gained 12,200 full-time positions.

The job losses occurred in most regions of the province but were concentrated in the Thompson-Okanagan and Lower Mainland . The BC Manufacturing and Professional Services industry sectors were the hardest hit, losing a combined 24,800 jobs while 22,000 jobs were gained in the Healthcare, Finance/Insurance/Real Estate and Accomodation/Food Services industries.

In the United States, payrolls expanded by a meagre 36,000 jobs, well below the consensus forecast of 146,000. While the US unemployment rate fell to 9%, this was almost entirely due to discouraged workers leaving the labour following an extended period of unemployment.

source: BCREA