News North Central BC’s Living Wage eclipses $16.39 in 2017 SHARE ON: Brendan Pawliw, staff Wednesday, Apr. 26th, 2017 The 2017 Living Wage in North Central BC is $16.39 an hour. That’s a decrease of $0.13 from the 2016 figure of $16.52. Living Wage for Families Campaign Organizer Deanna Ogle says many families are struggling with two categories. “So we see that child care in the region rose by $42.50 a month where rent in Prince George was up $54 a month.” The wage is what two working parents with two children must earn in order to cover expenses like food and transportation. The increase in expenses is 3.38% which is higher than BC’s inflation rate of 2.3%. Currently, there are just two places in North Central BC that are offering its employees a living wage. “We have Integris Credit Union who pays all their direct and contract service workers a living wage and we also have the City of Quesnel which was only the second municipality in Canada to offer a living wage to its employees,” says Ogle. Our region was one of nine in the province to experience a decline in the living wage. The North Central region includes Prince George, Quesnel, and Vanderhoof.