“More anxiety, less opportunity”: Dew warns B.C. faces an opportunity recession

VICTORIA, B.C.: “Today’s jobs report may show B.C.’s unemployment rate dipping slightly from 6.6 to 6.4 percent, but British Columbians are not breathing any easier. We are living through an opportunity recession: more anxiety, less opportunity.

Youth unemployment remains high at 12.5 per cent, and women are being hit harder at every age. Women’s unemployment sits at 6.7 per cent overall and a staggering 14.2 per cent for women aged 15 to 24. Even worse, for women aged 15 to 64, those core working years, unemployment rose from 6.3 to 6.8 per cent. That is the wrong direction, even as the headline unemployment number dipped. When the people who keep households running are falling behind, that is not a comeback. Insecurity is spreading.

Economic insecurity is real on the ground in communities like Kelowna. Our unemployment rate rose again in November to 11 per cent from 9.3 per cent in October. That is 16,200 people out of work across the greater Kelowna area, up from 13,800 the month before. This is a tale of two economies; Victoria gets fat with government jobs while the rest of B.C. gets lean.

Lower perceived job security, combined with low business confidence, means we are heading into the Christmas season with families feeling less stable, not more. Many working families aren’t sure they can afford to put turkey on the table and presents under the tree. Meanwhile, David Eby has taken all their cookies to fatten up the big government grinch.

The pain is widening in the resource economy, too. Domtar’s permanent Crofton closure will affect about 350 workers, and Brink Forest Products announced a three-week shutdown yesterday, starting December 11, affecting 75 workers in Prince George, Vanderhoof, and Houston.

People do not need more spin from a failed Premier. All they want for Christmas is a government that stops managing decline and starts delivering stability, opportunity, and common sense.”

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Media Contact:
Ryan Painter
Communications
Ryan.Painter@leg.bc.ca