Core Target 3: Employment Rate

Core Target Three is the percent of the population (ages 15 to 64) that is employed. The higher the employment rate, the better the rank.

British Columbia exceeded the national average in the employment rate in 2006, 2007 and 2008. The Canadian average for 2008 was 73.7 percent.

Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba were well ahead of the average. British Columbia took over fifth place from Prince Edward Island in 2004 and fourth from Ontario in 2007. The last time BC was in fourth place was the period 1992 through 1997.

The dispersion in employment rates among the provinces grew in the early 1990s but has since converged to the lowest level in twenty years. British Columbia's rate deteriorated through the 1990s but began to improve in 1999. Average annual growth since then was 0.8 percent although BC's rate dropped by 1.7 percentage points in 2001 and by 0.1 last year.

North American Comparison

BC's employment rank in North America was 34th of 61 in 2007. BC sits above the mid-point in the approximately 20 percentage point difference between bottom ranked Newfoundland & Labrador and top ranked Alberta.

BC's recent low point was its 53rd place in 1998. Strong employment growth produced the province's best showing in the last 18 years.

International Comparison

BC has relatively high employment when compared to OECD countries. In 2007, BC ranked seventh out of 31 jurisdictions in its employment to population ratio. Its employment rate was 7.4 percentage points ahead of the OECD average.