Unemployment rate steady at 6.5% nationally, down in BC

The unemployment rate didn’t budge in October, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada.

It remained at 6.5 per cent, with the national economy adding just 15,000 jobs last month.

British Columbia, meanwhile, had one of the lowest unemployment rates in Canada at 5.8 per cent. That’s a decline of 0.2 percentage points compared with September.

Individual BC metro areas had the following unemployment rates in October:

• Kelowna: 4.5 per cent (down from 4.7 per cent in September)

• Abbotsford-Mission: 6.1 per cent (down from 6.4 per cent)

• Vancouver: 6.4 per cent (up from 6.3 per cent)

• Victoria: 3.7 per cent (up from 3.4 per cent)

Large employment declines were recorded nationally in real estate, finance and insurance. There were also losses in public administration, wholesale and retail trade, transportation and agriculture.

The biggest gains were in business, building and support services, StatCan said, while education, accommodation and food services, manufacturing and construction also saw boosts.

Gains were also recorded in wages, with average hourly pay up 4.9 per cent year-over-year, reaching $35.76.

StatCan said that, according to its data, nearly one in three (28.8 per cent) Canadians aged 15 and older were living in a household in October that has recently found it difficult or very difficult to make ends meet.

That means paying for housing, food, clothes, transportation and other necessities.

In October 2023 that figure was 33.1 per cent, while in October 2022 it was 35.5 per cent.

Last month, Quebec had the lowest proportion of struggling households (22.3 per cent), while Ontario (31.7 per cent) and Alberta (31.3 per cent) had the highest.