Want a hot topic for 2017, one that’s sure to be front and centre during the provincial election in May?
Job growth. Or lack thereof. Or, fun with numbers, brought to you by the B.C. Liberals.
The B.C. government has been churning out news releases at an alarming rate these past few weeks. It may not be more than usual, but it sure seems that way.
One of the many we received last week was entitled “B.C.’s job growth set to continue into 2017.”
Perhaps our focus is too narrow. Perhaps we should better understand the big picture. Thing is, we just don’t see any stats or anecdotal evidence to suggest the Parksville Qualicum Beach region has seen any of the 69,000 jobs the Liberals say were created in the first 11 months of 2016.
What we would like to see is some diversification in this region. The creation of part-time, seasonal, service-industry jobs is great, and they are the lifeblood of this tourism-focused area, but it’s tough to buy a house or a car or spread disposable income around on the salaries of those jobs.
Forecasters expect B.C.’s unemployment rate to continue its downward trajectory next year, to sit between 6.1 per cent and a low of 5.7 per cent, said the government news release. The federal government’s numbers paint a different picture. The Parksville Qualicum Beach region, for the federal government unemployment statistics, is lumped into what’s called the Economic Region of Southern Coastal British Columbia. That region includes the mid-Island, and regional districts of Squamish, Powell River, the Fraser Valley and the Sunshine Coast. Basically everyone in southern B.C., semi-close to the Salish Sea, except Greater Victoria and Greater Vancouver.
The Employment Insurance website of the federal government is predicting an unemployment rate of 7.6 per cent for this Southern Coastal region in the next couple of weeks, as much as two per cent higher than the rosy numbers being touted by the B.C. government.
Yes, but it’s the off season in these tourism-reliant areas like Sechelt and Parksville, we hear some people saying. True enough, but when the unemployment numbers dive here in the high season, what kind of jobs, what kind of salaries, fuel that statistic? Exactly.
It’s time for a diversification kick-start from the provincial government. There’s no better time than a provincial election for political parties to talk about — dare we say promise — some solid job-creation plan for Parksville Qualicum Beach. We would prefer to see some private-sector action, but, say, 50 high-paying provincial government jobs, a shift of a department or two out of Victoria, would be welcomed, too.
— Editorial by John Harding
