Thought of the Day - June 24 - The BC Economy

One of the other issues stemming from the coronavirus is the economic impact of the measures to contain it. At the end of Q1, it was estimated that the BC economy would contract 7.6% this year.

In 2019 BC had the lowest percentage of unemployment of any province. In May 2019 unemployment stood at just 4.3%, below the 5.4% Canadian average. However, looking at the changes in recent months we are the province that has had the largest increase in the unemployment rate in 2020. The Provinces least impacted by COVID-19: Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick and PEI, all now have lower unemployment rates. May 2019 to May 2020 shows a 10.9% decrease in full-time employment and a staggering 30.6% decrease in part-time employment here in BC. Moving BC to a current 13.4% overall unemployment, close to the Canadian average figure of 13.7%. Youth unemployment now stands at 28.9% in BC and we have shed 353,000 jobs since the pandemic started.

These numbers reflect the impact on BC business, particularly the retail, accommodation, entertainment and foodservice industries, from the closure of non-essential services and the implemented travel restrictions.

Hopefully with Phase 3 reopening, coming soon, improvements will be made in June.

There is another new survey, 'Building BC's Recovery, Together,' to help the government decide how to spend it's (your) $1.5 billion earmarked to help the province recover.

Cheers

Cliff