British Columbia added 5,000 jobs in June but saw a dip in full-time employment, according to the latest jobs report from Statistics Canada.
The latest Labour Force Survey released by Statistics Canada Friday shows most of B.C,’s gains came from the addition of 21,300 part-time jobs, while the province lost 16,300 full-time jobs.
Much of those gains were in the accommodation and food services sector, which added 8,000 jobs.
Meanwhile, the goods-producing sector shed nearly 10,000 jobs, including 4,800 in manufacturing and 2,500 in construction.
B.C.’s unemployment rate fell by less than a point to 5.6 per cent. That compares to a national unemployment rate of 6.9 per cent in June.
Among youth aged 15 to 24, unemployment fell to 13 per cent in June, compared to 16.6 per cent the previous month. However it remained 2.2 per cent higher than June last year.
“Today’s Labour Force Survey data demonstrates the work B.C. is doing to push forward on job creation, investment and economic development, despite the uncertain and challenging geopolitical climate we are facing from south of the border,” said Diana Gibson, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation, in a statement.
“We know that the uncertainty of U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s tariff threats is proving extremely challenging for businesses. We’re doing everything we can to defend B.C. businesses and help open new markets and new opportunities so they can continue to grow,” said Gibson.
But B.C. Conservatives jobs critic Gavin Dew points to the loss of goods-producing jobs and a rising youth unemployment rate.
“This isn’t a strong economy. It’s a stalled economy – where young people can’t find work, businesses are too weighed down to hire, and the government keeps pretending everything’s fine.” said Dew in a statement. “It’s an anemic economy being asked to carry the weight of a bloated government, because public sector employment has massively outstripped private sector jobs for years under the NDP.”
Canada added 83,000 jobs overall in June. It marked the first increase in jobs since January, but StatCan notes most of that growth was in part-time work.
While unemployment saw little change from the previous month, it was up nine per cent from June 2024.
More Canadians are also experiencing longer-term unemployment. StatCan said over one in five unemployed people had been searching for work for 27 weeks or more in June — up more than four percentage points from June 2024.
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