The unemployment rate in Thompson-Okanagan has shrunk by nearly four per cent since September of 2020.
That鈥檚 according to the Chartered Professional Accountants of B.C. in their latest report 鈥楤C Check-Up: Work,鈥� which was released on Oct. 26.
Unemployment in the region reached 9 per cent last September after the number plummeted to 4.5 per cent 12 months earlier in 2019.
As of September, total employment in Thompson-Okanagan sits at 305,400, an increase of 4.4 from the previous year.
鈥淭o meet increasing consumer demand, businesses in the region have hired nearly 13,000 workers over the past year,鈥� said Karen Christiansen with MNP LLP in 麻豆AV. 鈥淗owever, one concerning trend is a sustained decrease in the proportion of residents looking for work.鈥�
The region鈥檚 workforce has decreased by 1.5 per cent since September 2019 and the number of people either employed or looking for work has not yet returned to its pre-pandemic level.
鈥淭he lower proportion of people looking for work puts additional pressure on businesses looking to hire, contributing to the rising shortage of labour in the region,鈥� Christiansen said.
The participation rate fell from 64.2 per cent in 2020 to 63.5 per cent in 2021, a decrease from 66 per cent pre-pandemic.
鈥淭he data suggests many former part-time workers have left the labour force.鈥�
Data shows that the service sector has added 12,300 positions over the last 12 months. However, the hospitality workforce has seen a decline, according to the annual report.
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca
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