Photo: The Canadian Press
Kelowna’s unemployment rate in October remained at 4.1 per cent for the second straight month, and the number hasn’t wavered much over the last 12 months.
The bottom line is Kelowna continues to have one of the lowest unemployment rates among Canadian cities and sits in the province with the lowest mark as well.
Robert Fine, who is Kelowna’s director of business and entrepreneurial development, believes the city’s strength in its major sectors is a driving force behind the low rates. He also credits StatsCan numbers that indicate as much as two per cent economic annual growth in the city.
“The rebound in tourism this year, the growth of the IT sector and its emergence—looking at growth rates of eight per cent per year year over year and creating high-end quality jobs—have certainly had an impact,” Fine said. “And if you look at the drivers of our economy between the airport, the whole KGH area and the cancer clinic, and look at those jobs that are high paying and throw in the university and college, with 15,000 students coming to town, we’ve got a really good base, which is certainly helping the economy grow.”
The news of Tolko’s permanent closure of its Kelowna mill on Friday was in sharp contrast to the Statistics Canada numbers that came out earlier in the day, but Fine is confident Kelowna will be able to handle the major setback of more than 125 job losses.
“This is the reality of a more globalized, connected economy when the markets shift and change,” Fine said. “Nothing lasts forever. It’s difficult, because we just always think we’re going to wake up the next day and look outside and the same businesses that are there from 10 or 20 years ago are still going to be there and they’re going to be there forever. Unfortunately and sadly, that is not how it works.
“We’ve certainly been through our share of big changes and closures and shifts, and the city continues to evolve and thrive. Hopefully we’ll continue to do that moving forward and hopefully find a series of opportunities for anyone who has been involved with Tolko and others in their supplier network to make sure that they continue to have opportunities as well.”
WorkBC announced earlier this week it will conduct special sessions with former Tolko employees who are looking to get back into the work force, and Fine said the city has also been in talks with the company to provide similar programs for affected workers.
One problem that comes along with low unemployment is the lack of workers in occupations that require less skilled training. That remains the number one concern of small businesses the city has been consulting with in recent months.
Image: Contributed
All Biz Releases Stories
