Victoria’s unemployment rate rose again in February, from 3.9 per cent in January to 4.4 per cent.
Victoria is no longer showing the lowest unemployment rate in B.C. as the number went up again in the latest figures released by Statistics Canada Friday.
Only Victoria saw an unemployment hike in the province last month with a half-percent jump to 4.4 per cent from 3.9 in January.
The jobless rate in Victoria was 3.4 per cent in December.
Vancouver’s unemployment figure in February went down two basis points to 3.9 per cent for the lowest mark in the province and Abbotsford’s dropped by three-tenths to 4.1 per cent.
Although the province’s unemployment rate nudged up one-tenth in February, B.C. still has the lowest jobless rate in the country at 4.8 per cent.
Stats Canada says the economy created 15,400 jobs last month to drop the national unemployment rate to 5.8 per cent from 5.9 in January.
The report says the gains in jobs were due to a surge of part-time positions that offset a drop in full-time employment.
A labour-force survey showed an increase of more than 50,000 jobs in the public sector.
Andy Neal
