Economic Update - January 2018
January in Review 
In January 2018, Prince George's unemployment rate was 7.0%, a decrease of 1.1% when compared to the same month in 2017 when it was 8.1%. The unemployment rate was higher than the provincial rate of 4.8% and the national rate of 5.9%.
 
Prince George's employment rate in January 2018 was 68.0%, an increase from the same month in January 2017 when it was 64.7%, a 3.3% positive change. The employment rate of 68.0% for Prince George was higher than Canada's national rate of 61.7% and British Columbia's rate of 62.1%. 
 
Total employment in the Cariboo Economic Development region was 79,300 during January 2018. This represents a decrease of 900 jobs when compared to the previous month. The Finance, insurance, real estate, and rental and leasing category saw the highest increase, adding 500 jobs. Job numbers decreased in the Wood Products Manufacturing category by 700 jobs .
Real Estate
The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) average absorbed single-detached unit price for new housing construction for January 2018 in Prince George was not released this month. This information will be included in the February 2018 Economic Update. 
 
The BC Northern Real Estate Board reported home sales in Northern BC totaled 230 units in January 2018, an increase of 21.1% from January 2017. The average price of homes sold in Northern BC was $264,120 in January 2018, a slight increase of 1.1% from  January 2017. The dollar value of home sales for January 2018 totaled $60.7 million, up 22.4% from the same month in 2017. Active residential listings on the Board MLS System numbered 1,623 units at the end of January, a decline of 10.5% from the end of January 2017. This was the lowest level for active listings in the month of January in ten years. 
Housing Construction
Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation (CMHC) housing construction data for January 2018 was unavailable at the time of this publication. Please refer to CMHC Housing Market Information Portal
for further information. 
Building Permits 
The City of Prince George issued 32 building permits valued at $6.94 million in January 2018, including $4,674,345 in single family residential permits, $716,000 in multiple family residential permits, and $1,103,000 in commercial permits. Institutional permits came in at $1,000 and no industrial permits were issued. This is a 39.0% increase over January 2017 when 19 permits were issued at a value of $1.82 million.

View the complete Monthly Building Permit Report   for detailed descriptions of building permits issued. 


Business Licenses 
The City of Prince George issued 64 new business licenses and 925 business license renewals in January 2018.

Monthly Business License Reports are available on the
 City of Prince George website.
Passengers 
40,925 passengers moved through the Prince George International Airport in January 2018. This was an increase of 10.75% or 3,971 more passengers over January 2017 when passenger volume was 36,954.
More Statistics...
The City of Prince George Economic Development Division offers a  dashboard that provides relevant up-to-date  economic data including the following: demographics, labour, tax, quality of life, housing transportation, education, companies, and utilities. Powered by Townfolio, this new statistical tool is designed to help businesses and the community gain access to up-to-date statistics about the Prince George economy. 

Click this link to see the Economic Updates from previous months and 
historical data back to 2012.  

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Email: [email protected], Telephone: 250-561-7600, Fax: 250-561-7724
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