PG’s jobless mark spikes to 7.9% in August

The unemployment rate in Prince George rose by quite the margin in August according to Stats Canada.

It came in at 7.9% after it was 5.2% in July.

Labour Analyst, Vince Ferrao told MyPGNow.com the increase is even more eye-popping on a year-over-year basis .

“There were more people searching for work and that pushed the unemployment rate to 7.9% compared to the same month a year ago where it was 4.6.”

“We had 48,000 people working. A year ago, that number was 54,000.”

In BC, the unemployment rate increased to 6.2% in August after it was 5.9 the month prior – the fourth lowest among the provinces.

Nationally, Canada’s jobless mark inched up to 7.1% after it was 6.9 in July.

This as the agency reports employment dropped by 66,000 in August – largely because of a decline in part-time work.

The biggest drop, at 26,000, was in Ontario, followed by B-C (16,000) and Alberta (14,000).

Here is a breakdown of all the provinces:

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