9 for 9 on economy
Okanagan Edge Staff - Jul 26, 2017 - Biz Releases

Photo: Contributed

The latest report from the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission shows upward momentum in the region across nine different economic indicators, over the first half of 2017.

The Central Okanagan Economic Indicators Report for Q2 of 2017 shows that more people in the region had jobs, more new houses were built, more businesses licenses were given out and the prices of rent and a home rose.

One of the big numbers was the increased value of building permits in the region from January to June this year.

The reports says residential building permit values in the Central Okanagan went up 40 per cent over the first half of the year compared to the same time period in 2016, and total building permit values reached an “all time high” of $528 million.

Meanwhile, the number of people with jobs also went up.

Over the first half of the year there were 97,216 people working in the Central Okanagan, a 5.5 per cent jump from 2016, when 89,666 people had jobs.

The report also points out that the Central Okanagan is the fastest-growing region in B.C. (with the population growing by 8.4 per cent since the last census), so it makes sense that more people would be working here.

However, unemployment still dropped this year, going from 8.4 per cent in 2016 to 5.8 per cent in 2017.

Airport traffic was also up, with YLW seeing a 13 per cent increase in passenger traffic compared to the same, already record breaking span of time in 2016.

Over the first two quarters of 2017 930,849 passengers passed through YLW, compared to 827,076 in 2016.

However all this upward momentum is also pushing rent and housing prices even higher.

The median home price rose a stark 23 per cent over the first half of 2017, to $675,000. Average rent (for a two-bedroom apartment) was also up six per cent as of the last annual data released from the CMHC.

More information from the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission’s Economic Indicators report is available online.


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