Employment rates in Canada rebounded in September after a slight contraction in August, but British Columbia is lagging and the provincial unemployment rate is rising.

“We still have one of the lowest unemployment rates among the major provinces,” said Jobs and Economic Development Minister Rafi Kahlon. “But we also have headwinds.”

Additional concerns loom that the public service strike could have knock-on effects on the broader economy.

“It can have implications for people’s employment and their communities,” Kahlon said.

Statistics Canada’s latest Labor Force Survey, released Friday, Oct. 10, shows job gains in Canada as a whole in September, but they are unevenly distributed.

A big rebound was seen in Alberta, which cut 14,000 jobs in August but added 43,000 jobs in September. BC lost 16,000 points in August, but gained only 7,800 points in September.

Meanwhile, British Columbia’s unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 6.4 per cent. This is still below the national average of 7.1 percent.

The youth unemployment rate – those aged 15 to 24 – rose the most in British Columbia, where it rose to 13.7 per cent from 12.8 per cent. This is still lower than the national average, which rose to 14.7 percent from 14.4 percent.

Gavin Dew, British Columbia’s Conservative critic for small business and innovation, said that’s a number that continues to worry him month after month.

“We are seeing the highest levels of intergenerational unemployment in British Columbia and across the country, and that means young people are missing out on the opportunity to climb the ladder of success,” he said.

Kahlon agrees that youth unemployment is a concern for the province. He said more efforts must be made in collaboration with the federal government to ensure that young people have the right skills to succeed in the changing economic landscape.

“It’s something we need, frankly, to have a national conversation about how we create those opportunities,” he said.

Dew is also sounding the alarm about small business confidence, which he says is being negatively impacted by street disturbances in core downtown areas in many British Columbia cities.

“These jobs have been destroyed by the death of our downtown,” Dew said.

He said there is an ongoing “doom cycle” of declining discretionary spending fueling loss of revenue for small businesses.

He added that this affects many young people, because their first jobs are often in retail or restaurants.

Kahlon is also concerned about the forestry sector, which was recently hit with a 45 percent effective tax on exports to the United States, on top of combined customs duties and tariffs.

“The new fees that the US government just announced will start next week, and that means it’s going to be some tough decisions in communities across the province,” he said.

The looming economic impact of a public service strike

With more than 25,000 essential public service workers on strike, everything from business licenses to alcohol sales are being postponed or suspended.

“I don’t have a crystal ball to look at all the places where there might be impacts,” Kahlon said. “The main message here is that we just need to reach an agreement. We need to get back to the table and resolve this issue because it could have an impact on the economy.”

Restaurant owners are particularly concerned about the strike because they depend on alcohol sales for a large portion of their revenue.

“Some of them have already started adjusting their hours, which means employees aren’t getting their hours,” said Mark von Schilwitz, vice-president of the British Columbia region for Restaurant Group Canada, an industry group. “So it does affect employment status.”

Restaurants and bars are in a difficult position because they are only allowed to purchase alcohol products from provincial distributors, select wineries, local breweries and liquor stores in British Columbia, but cannot purchase from private liquor stores.

The strike has now led to the closure of distribution warehouses and liquor stores. Finance Minister Brenda Bailey suggested this week that restaurants would be OK because they could buy from local wineries and breweries. Local products are just a “drop in the bucket” in terms of total sales, von Schilwitz said.

He met with Prime Minister David Eby and Agriculture and Food Minister Lana Popham to propose alternative solutions, including allowing restaurants to buy from private stores. They looked into the matter, but then told him that changes of this kind in liquor policy were not possible during a strike.

Meanwhile, restaurants are trying to weather a record year for bankruptcies in 2024. Dew blamed that on vandalism and violence in commercial areas. Von Schilwitz said restaurants everywhere are struggling to keep their doors open.

“It seems like every time we make some progress — and we are still trying to fully recover from the pandemic — there is another challenge and another obstacle in our way,” he said.