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The unemployment rate in Kelowna and Central Okanagan plummeted in July.
The level fell from 6.3% in June to 5.6% last month, making it the sixth-lowest level in the country, according to information released by Statistics Canada on Friday.
Kelowna’s labor force, all of whom are fit for work, rose by 1,800 in July, while the number of unemployed fell by 700.
The employment rate, i.e. the number of people working or looking for work, rose by almost 1,000 people in the past month.
The improvement in employment in Kelowna mirrored that of the entire country, which created 94,000 jobs last month. The Canadian unemployment rate was 7.5% in July, up from 7.8% in June.
Meanwhile, Thompson Okanagan’s unemployment rate fell like a rock from 6.5% in June to just 5.1% in July.
Canada still has 246,400 jobs, or 1.3%, less than before the February 2020 pandemic.
The number of people classified as long-term unemployed – those who were unemployed for more than six months – was 244,000 higher in July than before the pandemic, accounting for 27.8% of total unemployment. Of that number, more than two-thirds have been unemployed for a year or more, Statistics Canada said.
CIBC senior economist Royce Mendes believes it will be harder to get a job in the coming months.
“Profits are likely to slow from here as many employers report labor shortages due to generous government support, COVID contagion concerns in high-contact work environments, and childcare obligations,” he wrote in a note to investors.
However, he also said the July surge continues the pattern started with the 231,000 new jobs added in June and can be seen as a strong gain that offsets the job losses that occurred during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic have arisen.
– with files from The Canadian Press
