About 21,300 jobs were created in B.C. last month, but the province’s economic recovery is uneven, according to the national labour force survey results for May.
The unemployment rate for people age 15–24 rose from 11.6 per cent to 15.1 per cent. B.C. lost 23,200 part-time jobs last month, according to Statistics Canada.
“The pandemic has also disproportionately impacted people who identify as Indigenous, Black and people of colour. B.C. is committed to assisting the hardest hit and sharing the benefits of recovery with everyone,” said Ravi Kahlon, minister of jobs, economic recovery and innovation.
B.C.’s overall unemployment rate is seven per cent, below the national rate of 8.2 per cent, according to Kahlon. The rate for men 25 and older dropped from 6.8 to 5.8 per cent and the rate for women 25 and older decreased from 5.8 to 5.6 per cent.
“Despite this pandemic, B.C. continues to lead Canada with a job recovery rate of over 99 per cent,” Kahlon said.
“This is alongside the solid economic outlook that was acknowledged last week by the global credit rating agency Moody’s, which affirmed B.C.’s triple-A credit rating. B.C. remains the only province in Canada to receive the top rating by all the major international credit rating agencies.”
Between April and May, B.C.’s population increased by 5,300 people, while the labour force shrank by 4,100.
