British Columbia’s economy shed 19,000 jobs in March, on the heels of similar job losses in February.
Statistics Canada’s latest labour force survey said B.C.’s unemployment rate rose 0.6 percentage points to 6.7 per cent last month, matching the national average.
StatCan said it’s the highest level for the province since February 2016, excluding the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.
B.C. lost 23,700 full-time jobs in March, while gaining 4,600 part-time roles.
The wholesale and retail trade sector lost close to 10,000 positions. The sector that includes real estate and rentals also shed more than 7,000 jobs.
“Despite overall losses last month as we see the impacts of Trump’s tariffs hitting B.C., today’s Labour Force Survey shows that B.C.’s economy is showing signs of strength in a number of key sectors, with 3,700 more jobs in manufacturing and 2,800 more jobs in construction,” said jobs minister Ravi Kahlon in a statement.
He said B.C. is expecting to see more gains in the construction sector heading into the summer months.
The B.C. Conservatives’ jobs and economic development critic Gavin Dew said the March jobs numbers show the wrong priorities in government.
“It’s no wonder B.C. is losing jobs when this government has piled a PST hike and a public safety crisis on top of uncertainty around basic property rights,” said Dew in a statement.
B.C. has lost close to 37, 000 jobs compared to a year ago.
Across Canada, employment was relatively flat from February to March, with an increase of 14,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.7 per cent.
