B.C. has managed to buck the national trend of falling job numbers in November, adding 4,200 positions to the province as the rest of Canada experienced notable drops.
The new jobs — 1,000 of them full-time positions — helped push the province’s unemployment rate down to 5.8% from 6.3% in October, according to data released by Statistics Canada Friday (December 5).
Canada, meanwhile, lost 10,700 jobs last month following two consecutive months of increases. Those losses pushed the national unemployment rate up 0.1% to 6.6% compared with October.
Ontario was the main culprit behind the country’s dip in employment as it shed 34,000 jobs in November.
B.C. also managed to outdo Canada in terms of annual employment growth. The province posted year-over-year growth of 2%, while the national average sat at 0.8%.
Nationally, employment in the natural resources sector — one of the linchpins of the B.C. economy — grew by 14,800 jobs.
Construction jobs declined by 5,300, while accommodation and food services added 13,100 positions across the country. Jobs in trade declined by 41,600, and professional, scientific and technical services lost 32,9000 jobs.
