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Building permits, resource sector job spike results in strong May for Prince George

The economic outlook for the City of Prince George was quite rosy according to the May numbers.

The Northern Capital’s unemployment rate came in at 4.7%, which is on par from the same time last year, however, jobs in forestry, oil, and gas increased by 1,100.

Prince George’s jobless rate remains a half point lower than Canada’s average of 5.4%.

Mayor Lyn Hall told MYPGNOW.com one other thing that stood out.

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“Some of the key pieces that we take a look at is the building permits and we are up about one or two percent over 2018, which is a good indicator for us particularly that much of that is the private sector.”

“As we know, 2018 was a banner year for us with building permits so to see it up a percentage or two mid-way through 2019 is a good indicator for us.”

However, Hall is also keeping a close eye on the recent sawmill curtailments across the north and how that could impact a regional economy like ours.

“We’ve seen a couple of mills in smaller communities that have indicated they are going to be curtailing operations even more and in some instances, there is a real concern if those mills will start up.”

“So we take a look at what has happened since 2017 due to the wildfires and the tremendous loss of timber that concerns me on a couple of fronts, access to fibre and what it costs to get that fibre.”

The May economic update also pointed to a spike in home prices where the average sale price was $368,210 this year compared to the same time in 2018 where the mark was over $351,000.

Data from the Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation also showed 44 home starts last month (23 single family dwelling, 21 multi-family dwellings).

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