Central 1 is out with their latest BC Economic Briefing with details on April retail sales, immigration rates, May inflation numbers, job gains, and tourism spending in BC. 

Highlights of the report include:

• B.C. retail spending increased 1.3 per cent in April from last month
  • B.C. retail spending rose by 1.3 per cent in April 2022 to a seasonally adjusted $8.38 billion, accelerating after a flat performance over the two months prior
• May consumer price inflation surged 8.1 per cent year-over-year in B.C. 
  • Consumer price inflation in B.C. soared in May with year-over-year growth in the CPI reaching 8.1 per cent compared to 6.7 per cent in April as price trends accelerated.
• Tourism in B.C. remained robust in April
  • Tourist visits in B.C. climbed for a third consecutive month in April as visits increased sharply following Omicron fears and relaxed entry restrictions.  American tourists accounted for 76.6 per cent of all tourists coming into BC
• International migration led B.C. population growth in Q1 2022
  • BC added 22,043 new residents during the first quarter due entirely to net migration to lift the population to 5.286 million persons as of April 1.
• B.C. non- farm payroll counts rose for an eleventh consecutive month in April  
  •  Payroll growth accelerated to 0.7 per cent m/m (16,571 positions) from April, up from 0.5 per cent in March. With the latest increase, B.C. payrolls exceeded pre-pandemic 2020 by 3.7 per cent.

Download and read the full report here.