‘Data for Business’ is an effort of the Langley Chamber, in partnership with the Canadian Chamber’s Business Data Lab, to bring our members reports, stats, and analysis on economic and business data to help inform business and investment decisions. Read our latest update below:

Last week’s Labour Force Survey from Stats Canada revealed generally flat employment growth for Canada as a whole, but with BC leading with 13,000 new jobs created, led by growth in the Construction and Professional Services sectors. 

Concerningly, youth unemployment has hit highs not seen last since 1999.  The unemployment rate for returning students (those looking to going back to school in September) was 20.1%.  This should be a concern for government, and the Langley Chamber applauds the federal government’s decision to expand the Canada Summer Jobs program to help create more youth opportunities, but government should be looking at ways to help businesses be in a position to hire more youth.   

Langley Chamber CEO Cory Redekop spoke to CBC’s BC Today about youth unemployment in a recent interview.  Watch it below then read more takeaways and commentary on the Labour Force Survey:



Labour Force Survey Key Takeaways: 

• Employment in May was essentially flat, rising by only 8,800, leaving the employment rate at 60.8%. The unemployment rate edged up 0.1 points to 7%, its highest since September 2016 (excluding the pandemic).
• Employment increased in British Columbia (+13,000; +0.4%), where the province added 15,700 full time jobs and lost 2,800 part-time jobs.  The unemployment rate in the province was little changed at 6.4%. 
• Job creation in BC was led by Construction (+11,200), Professions/Scientific/Technical Services (+11,100) and Health/Social Assistance (+8,700).  Job losses were concentrated in Accommodation/Food Services (-9,000) and Transportation/Warehousing (-5,700).
• Wage growth has eased, rising 3.4% year-over-year, matching April’s pace. The number of unemployed reached 1.6 million (+13.8% y/y), with average duration at 21.8 weeks (versus 18.4 weeks a year earlier), indicating greater difficulty in job-finding, especially for returning students facing a challenging summer.
• The flat employment and rising unemployment signal softening labour demand. However, tariffs will continue to show their impact in affected sectors and communities. The Bank of Canada maintains a cautious, data-dependent stance, holding policy rates, but will see further weakening employment in advance of their July decision.