VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to this year's B.C. Check-Up: Work, an annual report by the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) on employment trends across the province, the unemployment rate for Southwest B.C. – which includes the Lower Mainland – was 6.0 per cent in November, unchanged from one year earlier.
"Southwest B.C.’s labour market has remained soft in 2025,” noted Lori Mathison, FCPA, LLB, president and CEO of CPABC. “We’ve seen the number of job vacancies continue to fall as hiring slows in the region.”
As of November 2025, there were 1.91 million Southwest B.C. residents working, representing a marginal increase of 0.7 per cent from November 2024. Employment gains lagged working-age population growth of 1.8 per cent year-over-year, causing the employment rate to edge lower to 62.2 per cent.
During the second quarter of 2025, employers were hiring for 49,725 vacant positions, down 19.0 per cent compared to the same period in 2024. The region’s job vacancy rate – the number of vacancies as a proportion of total labour demand – was the lowest among B.C.’s economic development regions at 3.0 per cent.
“Not only was Southwest B.C.’s vacancy rate the lowest in the province, but it was also the lowest it has ever been for the region,” added Mathison. “Vacancies fell for all major occupational groups, some of which was due to employment increasing, particularly in the goods sector.”
Southwest B.C.’s goods sector added 16,100 workers (+5.3 per cent) between November 2024 and November 2025, building on the 5,700 worker (+1.9 per cent) increase from the year prior. Gains were concentrated in manufacturing (+10.900; +9.2 per cent) and Construction (+9,900; +6.4 per cent), while employment fell in utilities (-4,700; -40.5 per cent). Meanwhile, employment in Southwest B.C.’s services sector held steady on aggregate.
“Generally speaking, there are more people looking for work in Southwest B.C. than there are jobs available, and that gap has widened since last year.” concluded Mathison.
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About CPA British Columbia
The Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) is the training, governing, and regulatory body for over 40,000 CPA members and 6,000 CPA candidates and students. CPABC carries out its primary mission to protect the public by enforcing the highest professional and ethical standards and contributing to the advancement of public policy.
