By Greg Fry

Unemployment rate way up in Kamloops

Nov 3, 2017 | 10:35 AM

KAMLOOPS — Some gloomy job numbers to report in Kamloops.

According to Statistics Canada, the three month unemployment average ending in October has shot up from the same period last year (August, September, and October).

“What we have is an unemployment rate of 11 per cent this October and that represents about 7,500 people looking for work,” says Labour Analyst Vincent Ferrao. “And a year ago we had an unemployment rate of 5.8 per cent or close to 4,000 people looking for work.”

Broken down even further, he says this October we had 60,400 people working while a year ago that number was 62,800.

“And in terms of the number of people looking for work that went from 3,900 to 6,100.”

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As for which sectors were hardest hit, Ferrao says he only has stats for the Thompson-Okanagan region where the unemployment rate rose from 6.9 per cent to 8 per cent this year.

“We’re seeing some declines in manufacturing, professional, scientific and technical services and a little bit in natural resources and education services.”

Provincially, the jobs picture is much better with an unemployment rate of 4.9 per cent, the same as last month. Nationally, the unemployment rate crept to 6.3 per cent from 6.2 per cent in September.