We know that uncertainty continues to remain in the global economy and we expect to see some monthly fluctuations in jobs numbers. That is why we will continue to create an environment that is welcoming to investment and business. Current statistics show that the BC Jobs Plan is working: The economy is growing and creating jobs. Economy B.C. led the country in economic growth in 2015, with the economy expanding by 3.3% (or $7.4 billion), ahead of Ontario (+2.5%), New Brunswick (+2.3%) and all other provinces. In 2011, B.C. s economic growth rate ranked third among provinces; in 2015, B.C. ranked first in Canada. B.C. achieved its Jobs Plan target of being in the Top two in GDP growth in Canada by 2015. Since 2011, B.C. s economy has expanded by nearly $25 billion (or +12.1%), ahead of Alberta (+11.1%), Manitoba (+9.9%), Saskatchewan (+9.3%), and all other provinces. Table 1: Real Gross Domestic Product at Market prices* 2011 2015 $billion from from Rank $billion from Rank 2011 to 2010 2014 2015 27.9 2.9% 4 27.3-2.0% 9-2.4% Prince Edward Island 4.9 2.0% 7 5.2 1.3% 5 6.1% Nova Scotia 35.9 0.5% 9 36.2 1.0% 7 0.8% New Brunswick 28.7 0.2% 10 28.9 2.3% 3 0.8% Quebec 321.6 1.9% 8 337.9 1.2% 6 5.1% Ontario 614.6 2.4% 6 665.0 2.5% 2 8.2% Manitoba 54.0 2.5% 5 59.4 2.2% 4 9.9% Saskatchewan 57.5 5.3% 2 62.9-1.3% 8 9.3% Alberta 279.7 6.4% 1 310.6-3.6% 10 11.1% British Columbia 206.4 3.0% 3 231.3 3.3% 1 12.1% * Preliminary GDP estimates for 2016 will be released by Statistics Canada on May 1, 2017. Updated March 10, 2017 Page 1 of 6
Labour Market Employment B.C. has record employment in the province, with over 2.4 million British Columbians working. Since the launch of Jobs Plan (Aug 2011) B.C. has added 222,200 new jobs: Over 96% of these jobs are in full-time employment, and 83% are in the private sector. Since the launch of Jobs Plan (Aug 2011): o B.C. is leading the country in job creation with employment growth of +10.0%, ahead of Saskatchewan (+8.0%), Alberta (+7.0%), Ontario (+5.9%) and all other provinces. [Table 2] o B.C. is leading the country in full-time job creation with employment growth of 12.5%, ahead of Saskatchewan (+6.2%), Ontario (+6.1%), Manitoba (+5.7%), Alberta (+4.8%) and all other provinces. [Table 3] o B.C. leads private sector job creation growth in Canada (+13.1%) followed by PEI (+11.2%), and ahead of Saskatchewan (+9.1%), Ontario (+7.6%), Manitoba (+6.9%) and all other provinces. B.C. has added 183,700 new private sector jobs since August 2011. [Table 4] Table 2: Employment Total Aug 2011 Feb 2017* (#) (%) 231,000 225,500-5,500-2.4% 10 Prince Edward Island 72,200 73,000 800 1.1% 7 Nova Scotia 454,200 445,900-8,300-1.8% 9 New Brunswick 354,500 351,900-2,600-0.7% 8 Quebec 3,997,900 4,191,500 193,600 4.8% 5 Ontario 6,684,500 7,079,800 395,300 5.9% 4 Manitoba 611,900 637,700 25,800 4.2% 6 Saskatchewan 533,100 575,500 42,400 8.0% 2 Alberta 2,120,400 2,268,900 148,500 7.0% 3 British Columbia 2,216,600 2,438,800 222,200 10.0% 1 Updated March 10, 2017 Page 2 of 6
Table 3: Employment Full-Time Aug 2011 Feb 2017* (#) (%) 194,500 190,100-4,400-2.3% 10 Prince Edward Island 60,000 62,200 2,200 3.7% 7 Nova Scotia 366,700 362,300-4,400-1.2% 9 New Brunswick 297,000 301,300 4,300 1.4% 8 Quebec 3,235,900 3,380,000 144,100 4.5% 6 Ontario 5,417,300 5,748,600 331,300 6.1% 3 Manitoba 489,200 517,000 27,800 5.7% 4 Saskatchewan 442,300 469,900 27,600 6.2% 2 Alberta 1,756,600 1,841,100 84,500 4.8% 5 British Columbia 1,711,600 1,926,200 214,600 12.5% 1 Table 4: Employment Private Sector Aug 2011 Feb 2017* (#) (%) 140,500 141,500 1,000 0.7% 8 Prince Edward Island 39,400 43,800 4,400 11.2% 2 Nova Scotia 279,800 273,400-6,400-2.3% 10 New Brunswick 229,900 225,500-4,400-1.9% 9 Quebec 2,613,300 2,742,300 129,000 4.9% 6 Ontario 4,346,300 4,677,400 331,100 7.6% 4 Manitoba 365,400 390,600 25,200 6.9% 5 Saskatchewan 301,500 328,900 27,400 9.1% 3 Alberta 1,413,700 1,452,200 38,500 2.7% 7 British Columbia 1,403,600 1,587,300 183,700 13.1% 1 Updated March 10, 2017 Page 3 of 6
Unemployment Rate Currently, B.C. s unemployment rate of 5.1% is the lowest in Canada and is below the national unemployment rate of 6.6%. Since the launch of Jobs Plan (Aug 2011): o The unemployment rate in B.C. has declined by 2.2 percentage points (from 7.3%, to 5.1% in February 2017), the largest drop among provinces. o When B.C. had the 4 th lowest unemployment rate, B.C. has moved to first place with the lowest unemployment rate in Canada. Table 5: Unemployment Rate Aug 2011 Rank Feb 2017* Rank in unemployment rate Canada 7.3 6.6 13.0 10 14.2 10 Prince Edward Island 11.1 9 10.0 9 Nova Scotia 8.9 7 8.1 6 New Brunswick 9.1 8 8.9 8 Quebec 7.6 6 6.4 5 Ontario 7.5 5 6.2 4 Manitoba 5.3 2 5.8 2 Saskatchewan 4.8 1 6.0 3 Alberta 5.5 3 8.3 7 British Columbia 7.3 4 5.1 1 Updated March 10, 2017 Page 4 of 6
Average Weekly Earnings B.C. average weekly earnings have increased by over 8% since 2011. Table 6: Average Weekly Earnings 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2011-2015 2011-2015 % Newfoundland and $879 $927 $952 $991 $1,017 15.7% 1 Prince Edward Island $719 $738 $752 $774 $801 11.3% 3 Nova Scotia $765 $788 $798 $820 $835 9.1% 6 New Brunswick $787 $807 $805 $832 $855 8.6% 7 Quebec $804 $823 $833 $850 $868 8.0% 9 Ontario $893 $906 $920 $938 $963 7.8% 10 Manitoba $801 $823 $827 $863 $880 9.9% 5 Saskatchewan $875 $918 $945 $975 $982 12.1% 2 Alberta $1,034 $1,070 $1,108 $1,149 $1,146 10.8% 4 British Columbia $841 $866 $875 $896 $910 8.2% 8 *The next annual update (2016) of the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH) will be released by Statistics Canada on March 31, 2017. Note: Average weekly earnings have been rounded to the nearest dollar. Updated March 10, 2017 Page 5 of 6
Inter-Provincial Migration The rest of Canada sees British Columbia as the land of economic opportunity: B.C. is gaining population from the rest of Canada. o In 2011, B.C. attracted a net 711 in-migrants from other parts of Canada. o In 2015, B.C. attracted 16,742 net inter-provincial migrants. o For the first nine months of 2016 (Jan-Sept), B.C. is estimated to have attracted over 16,000 more net in-migrants from the rest of the country. Table 7: Inter-Provincial Migration (Net) - Annual 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Jan-Sept 2016* Cumulative Net Migration 751 235 222-661 -746-616 -815 Prince Edward Island -314-914 -730-1,094-1,132-830 -5,014 Nova Scotia -1,648-3,242-2,918-1,852-1,198-640 -11,498 New Brunswick -1,017-3,069-2,840-3,238-2,624-1,582-14,370 Quebec -5,740-8,975-13,346-13,753-13,541-10,123-65,478 Ontario -5,742-13,138-11,987-14,681-3,080 15,839-32,789 Manitoba -4,171-3,928-6,146-7,336-6,971-5,812-34,364 Saskatchewan 801 1,586-476 -1,947-3,644-4,529-8,209 Alberta 15,968 36,287 36,830 32,036 16,803-7,540 130,384 British Columbia 711-4,322 2,514 12,594 16,742 16,734 44,973 * Statistics Canada annual update of migration estimates for 2016 will be released on March 23, 2017. International Exports In 2016, $39.4 billion in goods were exported from B.C., an increase of 20.7% since 2011 (+$6.8 billion). B.C. leads the country in 2016 export growth over 2015, with growth of +9.8%, ahead of Ontario (+4.2%) and PEI (+1.1%). Currently 5,995 companies in B.C. export their goods. 86% of exporters are small and medium sized businesses. Investment B.C. has $77 billion in major projects currently under construction (2016Q3), compared to $68 billion in 2011Q3 (+13% higher). Of the Province s major taxpayer-supported infrastructure projects, there is over $7.5 billion worth of work going on in communities across B.C. creating over 38,000 jobs during construction. Updated March 10, 2017 Page 6 of 6