economy
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE LIMBO: CAN WE GO LOWER? Vancouver’s tight labour market could soon serve as a constraint to growth in our regional economy; more housing would help.
A low unemployment rate on its own doesn’t reveal whether it’s a feature of a fertile economic landscape or simply the product of an older workforce operating in a stagnant job market. In Metro Vancouver, a region whose population is growing by up to 45K people per year and whose employment base has most recently grown by an impressive 6.5%, we can say with confidence that the current unemployment rate of 4.0%—creeping ever- closer to its all-time low of 3.5%, achieved in
early 2007—is a reflection of a robust, well- performing labour market. It also compares favourably to the latest unemployment figures for its peer markets of Toronto (a 5.7% unemployment rate), Calgary (6.9%), and Edmonton (7.5%). It is also 9% lower than in British Columbia as a whole and 27% below Canada. It’s inarguably a good sign for the economy that those who are seeking work in Metro Vancouver are finding it.
UNEMPLOYMENT: IS THIS THE FLOOR, OR WILL WE SEE SUB-4(%)?
12.0%
10.0%
8.0%
6.9% 7.5%
6.0%
5.7%
4.0%
4.0%
2.0%
0.0%
Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
EDMONTON CALGARY
TORONTO
VANCOUVER
SOURCE: LABOUR FORCE SURVEY, STATISTICS CANADA DATA: 3-MONTH MOVING AVERAGE, SEASONALLY-ADJUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
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