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Kelowna’s unemployment rate may be trending upward, but according to one report the city has the best labour market in the country.
BMO’s monthly look at the job markets in Canada’s 33 largest metropolitan areas put Kelowna at the top of the pack in September, based largely on a year-over-year change in its population and labour rates.
The Regional Labour Market Report Card ranks the cities’ labour markets based on a weighted average of five different factors.
Last month, Kelowna rocketed up the list after its employment numbers showed a nearly 15 per cent jump compared to the same month last year.
The city’s stellar score can also be chalked up to positive population growth over the past year, and its year-over-year unemployment rate comparison.
While Kelowna’s unemployment rate has been on the rise for months, it’s still significantly lower than it was at this time last year, so for the purposes of BMO’s report it’s trending downward.
Robert Kavcic, the BMO senior economist who writes the report, pointed out that British Columbia as a whole “continues to lead the pack,” with employment rising 3.9 per cent from a year ago.
He also pointed out that six of the Top 10 performing cities are located in Ontario, specifically concentrated around the Greater Toronto Area. Toronto’s jobless rate also sits below the national average, and hit a 16-year low in September.
With the exception of Winnipeg, MB, every city in the Top 10 is located in either Ontario or British Columbia.
The Top 10 best labour markets in the country last month, according to BMO, are listed below. A complete list is available here.
-Kelowna, BC;
-Hamilton, ON;
-Kitchener, ON;
-Winnipeg, MB;
-Barrie, ON;
-Vancouver, BC;
-Guelph, ON;
-Oshawa, ON;
-Toronto, ON;
-Victoria, BC.
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