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By James Peters

Employment

Drop in international students having major impact on Kamloops labour market: TRU professor

Dec 18, 2025 | 5:48 PM

KAMLOOPS — An economics professor at Thompson Rivers University says the lower cap on international students coming to the university is having a compounding effect on the Kamloops labour market.

Peter Tsigaris gave Kamloops council’s Economic Health Select Committee an overview of the local employment situation at a meeting Thursday (Dec. 18).

He noted employment allowances for international students were loosened during the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

“Initially, they were allowed to work 20 hours per week if they were studying,” said Tsigaris. “That was made flexible and they were allowed to work 30 hours per week. Plus… they were allowed to work for up to three years in a post-graduate work pratice. Also, the spouses they brought here were allowed to work, so that keeps on adding a lot of people to the labour market.”

The decrease in international student caps not only mean fewer new Kamloops residents participating in the job market, Tsigaris says it is also having an impact on TRU as an employer.

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“If you want me to make projections about the future, the participation rate will start falling as the international student body is going to be falling,” he said. “At the same time, TRU’s in huge financial difficulties and there are going to be layoffs and early retirements… that could cause an increase in the unemployment rate, somewhat.”

Recent months have seen the unemployment rate jump to double digits in the Kamloops area, but Tsigaris notes that is only part of the picture. He says those analyzing the market must also take into account the labour supply and participation rates, among other factors.

Tsigaris notes the most recent labour market survey was a rare instance of Kamloops’ unemployment rate dropping lower than Kelowna’s.