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13,000 New Jobs Created, Unemployment Hits 30-Year Low

April 7, 2006

VICTORIA – British Columbia created 13,000 new jobs in March, while the unemployment rate fell to 4.4 per cent, the lowest rate in 30 years, Finance Minister Carole Taylor announced today.

Compared to March of last year, B.C. recorded the fastest rate of employment growth of all provinces at 4.0 per cent, creating almost 85,000 new jobs.

“Since December 2001, B.C.’s economy has created over 294,000 jobs, with the strongest job creation rate in Canada,” said Taylor. “And the vast majority of those new positions are full-time.”

Full-time employment increased by 16,900 jobs in March, while the number of part-time positions decreased by 3,800 jobs. Since December 2001, 85 per cent of new jobs created in the province have been full-time.

“It has been a really positive week for British Columbia,” said Taylor. “Just last Friday, we completed 100 per cent of the labour agreements that were set to expire. Then on Tuesday, we saw a credit rating upgrade from Standard & Poor’s. Today, we’re seeing strong job growth and unemployment falling to new 30-year lows.

“It took a lot of hard work and tough decisions, but it is clear that British Columbians should be proud of their accomplishments. While we’ve emerged as an economic leader in Canada, we cannot become complacent. To keep moving forward, it’s important to remain prudent with our fiscal plans and explore new ways to further strengthen our economy.”

Since March of last year, employment gains have been spread across many sectors, with Statistics Canada identifying significant increases in retail and wholesale trade, information, culture and recreation, and construction.
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