NDIT releases ‘State of the North Report’

Northern Development Initiative Trust (NDIT) has released it’s State of the North Report.

According to NDIT, 2021’s report came three months later than usual, because of the 2021 Canadian census.

The North Central region houses the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George and a part of the Bulkley-Nechako Regional District.

It’s also the smallest geographic region in Northern BC, but is also home to one-third of the population.

In the North Central region, the population is projected to grow at an annual rate of 0.9 per cent, while the number of households is projected to grow at a rate of 1.2 per cent annually.

In the rest of the province, both the populations and number of households are projected to grow by 1.2 per cent.

Data was not available by industry for the North Central region, but employment levels in Prince George declined more significantly than the rest of Northern BC.

NDIT attributes this to a higher number of individuals employed at restaurants, bars, hotels, and other hospitality businesses which were affected by pandemic related shutdowns.

However, NDIT says looking forward, employment levels in Prince George are expected to recover as pandemic-related restrictions ease.

The report also listed that the living wage in Prince George is $16.51 per hour. However this has not been updated since 2019 due to potential irregularities from COVID-19.

In Prince George, the median housing price was $420,000 as of 2021’s third quarter. This was up around 5.4 per cent or around $22,500 from the year prior.

The full report is available here.