B.C. ‘stands alone’ on slumping private sector employment, business group warns

WATCH: When it comes to private sector jobs in this country, B.C. stands alone. New numbers show public sector jobs are outpacing the private sector, and as Richard Zussman reports, experts say this could be disastrous for our economy if nothing changes.The Business Council of B.C. says based on data in July’s Labour Force Survey, B.C. has added just 5,300 new private sector jobs since July 2022. At the same time, the province’s public sector payroll has grown by 63,000.

“This is not sustainable. At the end of the day, the private sector creates all of the revenue the government collects in order to support the expansion of public sector payroll,” Business Council of B.C. chief economist Ken Peacock told Global News. “We’ve essentially seen a flatlining of hiring in the private sector. … the weakness is quite widespread with only a couple sectors in the economy, professional services being one of them, showing growth in private sector employment.”Peacock said B.C. “stands alone” compared to other provinces when it comes to the disparity. Manitoba and Saskatchewan have added five new private sector jobs for every one public sector position, and Ontario has added 2.1.

“B.C. is no longer a competitive jurisdiction with all of these costs layered on,” BC United Finance Critic Peter Milobar said.According to the July Labour Force Survey, B.C. shed 10,300 jobs in July, while the unemployment rate ticked up to 5.5 per cent but remained second lowest in Canada.

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