British Columbia’s economic health is rosy, thanks to strong employment growth. British Columbia’s economy created over 55,800 new jobs in the past 12 months to October 2007. Of those, 48,600 or 87% were full-time. Sustained strong growth of employment has also contributed to a steady net influx of people from other provinces and from outside the country. At 4.4%, British Columbia’s unemployment rate is near the 20-year-low it reached in March 2007.

Job Growth in Key Sectors
Here’s a quick look at some of the key sectors:

Construction employment increased by 13,000 jobs year over year, thanks to strong residential and non-residential construction growth in preparation for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Despite the rapid appreciation of the Canadian dollar, manufacturing industries in the province added an estimated 10,000 jobs. This figure represents one of the largest annual increases in manufacturing employment since 1987.

Among the service-producing industries, trade, transport and health services added a significant number of new jobs. Meanwhile, goods-producing industries added 30,800 jobs and agricultural employers added 6,900 jobs.

Several Factors will Continue to Support Housing Demand
Moving forward, positive net migration and strong employment growth should continue to support housing demand in British Columbia through 2008 and 2009.

Although housing affordability has deteriorated significantly in Vancouver and Victoria, steady growth of disposable incomes — due to rising wages and cuts to personal income taxes — should bring total housing starts to the 32,000 to 35,000 level in 2008, compared to an estimated 35,000 in 2007. These same factors should also support consumer spending.

Low Office Vacancies and Rising Rents
In 2008, an expected recoil in institutional and industrial construction is likely to bring a slowdown in total non-residential construction spending. Based on Cushman & Wakefield LePage’s recent commercial real estate report, the outlook for commercial construction is positive, given historically low office-vacancy rates and double-digit increases in net asking rents.

Finally, despite the weakness in the U.S., China’s insatiable appetite for British Columbia’s resources should mean that the province’s net exports will continue to contribute to growth in the future.

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