Highlights as reported by the Labour Force Survey include an increase in the Central Okanagan’s labour force (1.4%) and an average unemployment rate of 5.0% for 2018. The Central Okanagan experienced a 49.3% increase in job postings in 2018, with an average of 1,938 jobs posted per month. The top three categories for job postings included – Sales and Service Occupations (30.4%), Business, Finance and Administration Occupations (13.3%) and Trades, Transport & Equipment Operator Occupations (11.7%).
The Kelowna Airport saw a record breaking 2,080,372 passengers in 2018, setting an all-time traffic record with a growth rate of 9.9% – representing over 186,000 additional travellers. Surpassing Victoria International Airport’s annual passenger numbers by 32,000 passengers, the Kelowna Airport is now ranked the 10th busiest airport in Canada.
Business Licenses in the region saw strong growth with a 4.5% increase in 2018. The District of Peachland is leading the region with 14.2% increase in business licenses and Westbank First Nation is second with 5.9% growth since 2017.
Note the Commission collects the above third party statistical data from BC Stats, Statistics Canada, CMHC, and local governments in the Central Okanagan. Caution should be used in the interpretation of month-to-month statistics, in particular the Labour Force Survey, a monthly sample survey which provides unemployment rates of the Canadian labour market.
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View the full Q4 report here.
