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Greater Victoria unemployment roller-coaster shows distinct anti-female bias

Province of Quebec boasts three of the top 5 Canadian cities with the lowest unemployment rates
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Recent statistics show that the Greater Victoria region has experienced a small roller-coaster when it comes to unemployment, with a distinct anti-female bias.

In April 2018, the Victoria Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) recorded an unemployment rate of 4.2 per cent. The unemployment rate then dropped by half a percentage point to 3.8 per cent in May, only to rise to 4.1 per cent in June, where it also remained in July. Unemployment rose again in August, hitting 4.5 per cent.

RELATED: Surge in part-time work offsets full-time losses, helps drops unemployment rate

A closer look though that regional male unemployment — while higher than female unemployment — has actually been dropping during the same period to 5.5 per cent in August from 5.9 per cent in April.

Female unemployment, meanwhile, has risen to 3.9 per in August from 2.7 in April.

Read in another way, local male unemployment is higher than local female unemployment, but women are feeling the effects of what appears to be a softening labour market by local standards more acutely.

RELATED: Victoria’s low unemployment rate raises concerns

Victoria’s unemployment rate of 4.5 per cent in August 2018 is up — at least on paper — significantly from November 2017, when the area recorded the lowest employment rate of 3.3 per cent. This said, compared to the rest of the province and Canada though, Victoria remains one of the best places to find a job, based on unemployment figures.

Only the Abbotsford-Mission CMA recorded a lower unemployment rate in August at 4.4 per cent, with Victoria ahead of the Vancouver CMA (4.9 per cent) and Kelowna CMA (5.5 per cent).

As for the best place to find work, look to la belle province, where three citiesQuébec City (3.8 per cent), Sherbrooke (four per cent), and Trois-Rivières (4.3 per cent) — crack the Top 5 Canadian cities with the lowest unemployment rates.

Guelph (4.2 per cent) and Abbotsford-Mission round out the list.

Canada’s national unemployment rate is 6.2 per cent.


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wolfgang.depner@saanichnews.com