In January 2018, Prince George’s unemployment rate was 7.0 per cent, a decrease of 1.1 per cent when compared to the same month in 2017 when it was 8.1 per cent. The unemployment rate was higher than the provincial rate of 4.8 per cent and the national rate of 5.9 per cent.
Prince George’s employment rate in January 2018 was 68.0 per cent, an increase from the same month in January 2017 when it was 64.7 per cent, a 3.3 per cent positive change. The employment rate of 68.0 per cent for Prince George was higher than Canada’s national rate of 61.7 per cent and British Columbia’s rate of 62.1 per cent.
Total employment in the Cariboo Economic Development region was 79,300 during January 2018. This represents a decrease of 900 jobs when compared to the previous month. The finance, insurance, real estate, and rental and leasing category saw the highest increase, adding 500 jobs. Job numbers decreased in the wood products manufacturing category by 700 jobs.
Real Estate
The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) average absorbed single-detached unit price for new housing construction for January 2018 in Prince George was not released this month. This information will be included in the February 2018 Economic Update.
The BC Northern Real Estate Board reported home sales in northern B.C. totalled 230 units in January 2018, an increase of 21.1 per cent from January 2017. The average price of homes sold in northern B.C. was $264,120 in January 2018, a slight increase of 1.1 per cent from January 2017.
The dollar value of home sales for January 2018 totaled $60.7 million, up 22.4 per cent from the same month in 2017. Active residential listings on the Board MLS System numbered 1,623 units at the end of January, a decline of 10.5 per cent from the end of January 2017. This was the lowest level for active listings in the month of January in 10 years.
Building Permits
The City of Prince George issued 32 building permits valued at $6.94 million in January 2018, including $4,674,345 in single family residential permits, $716,000 in multiple family residential permits, and $1,103,000 in commercial permits. Institutional permits came in at $1,000 and no industrial permits were issued. This is a 39.0 per cent increase over January 2017 when 19 permits were issued at a value of $1.82 million.
Read all about it
