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Cariboo

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Regional overview Population distribution Employment statistics

This region's industries and sectors B.C. Labour Market Outlook (2017-2027) for this region

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Latest numbers for this region in September 2018

Total regional population (age 15+): 128,100

Total regional employment: 81,300

Regional unemployment rate: 5.0 %

Total regional employment: 81,300

Source: Monthly Labour Force Survey, 3-month moving average, seasonally unadjusted

Regional overview

The Cariboo economic region covers much of the northern interior of the province, ranging from the Cariboo plateau in the west to the valleys of the Cariboo and Rocky Mountain ranges. It includes the city of Prince George, which acts as a major service centre for the northern half of the province.

Regional district	Key cities
Regional district Cariboo	Key cities Williams Lake, Quesnel, 100 Mile House
Regional district Fraser-Fort George	Key cities Prince George, McBride

Key facts

Cariboo is one of the less populated regions in B.C., accounting for only four percent of the province’s population. According to the last census, the population was 154, 271.
About 69 percent of the region’s population was of working age (15–64 years old), the same share as for the province as a whole.
Unemployment in Cariboo has consistently been higher than in the province as a whole; in 2015 the region’s unemployment rate of 7 percent was higher than the provincial rate.
Manufacturing activities provided about 12 percent of jobs in the region in 2015.
Just over 7 percent of B.C.’s Other Primary (forestry, mining, oil and gas, fishing, hunting and trapping) jobs were located in the Cariboo region.

Population distribution

Regional district	Population
Cariboo	62,400
Fraser-Fort George	91,900
Regional district total	154,300

Note:Regional district numbers may not add up to regional district total due to rounding.

Source: 2015 BC Stats (population)

Age distribution

Age
% by age for Cariboo
% by age for B.C.

0 - 14
15 - 24
25 - 54
55 - 64
65 - 90+

Source: 2015 Labour Force Survey

Employment statistics

Full-time employment rate by region

Region

Cariboo
Kootenay
Mainland / Southwest
North Coast & Nechako
Northeast
Thompson-Okanagan
Vancouver Island / Coast

Full-time employment rate

B.C. average: 79%

Cariboo employment (2015):

79,400

Total B.C. employment (2015):

2,306,200

Source: 2015 Labour Force Survey

Unemployment rate

10-year unemployment rate in Cariboo compared to B.C. rate (2005-2015)

British Columbia

Low:

4.3 %

High:

7.7 %

Unemployment rate (2015):

6.2 %

10-year average:

6.2 %

Cariboo

Low:

5.2 %

High:

12.1 %

Unemployment rate (2015):

7.0 %

10-year average:

7.2 %

Source: 2015 Labour Force Survey

This region's industries and sectors

Industry	Share of this region's employment	Share of B.C. employment	Sector
Accommodation and Food Services	Share of this region's employment8.1 %	Share of B.C. employment 3.6 %	Sector Services
Agriculture and Fishing¹	Share of this region's employment0.0 %	Share of B.C. employment 0.0 %	Sector Goods
Business, Building and Other Support Services	Share of this region's employment3.1 %	Share of B.C. employment 2.7 %	Sector Services
Construction	Share of this region's employment7.9 %	Share of B.C. employment 3.1 %	Sector Goods
Educational Services	Share of this region's employment6.3 %	Share of B.C. employment 3.1 %	Sector Services
Finance, Insurance and Real Estate	Share of this region's employment3.9 %	Share of B.C. employment 2.4 %	Sector Services
Forestry and Logging with Support Activities*	Share of this region's employment0.0 %	Share of B.C. employment 0.0 %	Sector Goods
Health Care and Social Assistance	Share of this region's employment11.0 %	Share of B.C. employment 3.0 %	Sector Services
Information, Culture and Recreation	Share of this region's employment3.7 %	Share of B.C. employment 2.5 %	Sector Services
Manufacturing	Share of this region's employment11.6 %	Share of B.C. employment 5.3 %	Sector Goods
Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction*	Share of this region's employment0.0 %	Share of B.C. employment 0.0 %	Sector Goods
Other Private Services	Share of this region's employment5.3 %	Share of B.C. employment 4.0 %	Sector Services
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	Share of this region's employment3.3 %	Share of B.C. employment 1.4 %	Sector Services
Public Administration	Share of this region's employment4.5 %	Share of B.C. employment 3.7 %	Sector Services
Retail Trade²	Share of this region's employment17.3 %	Share of B.C. employment 3.9 %	Sector Services
Transportation and Warehousing	Share of this region's employment5.0 %	Share of B.C. employment 2.9 %	Sector Services
Utilities	Share of this region's employment0.0 %	Share of B.C. employment 0.0 %	Sector Goods
Wholesale Trade²	Share of this region's employment17.3 %	Share of B.C. employment 3.9 %	Sector Services

Note:*Data for this industry is from the combined dataset for Forestry, Mining, Quarrying, Oil and Gas; therefore, the data for this industry was suppressed from reporting.
¹Data represents Agriculture industry only and will be updated when the 2017 data is available from Statistics Canada.
²Data represents Wholesale and Retail Trade and will be updated when the 2017 data is available from Statistics Canada.

Source: 2015 Labour Force Survey

Goods and Services sectors

Share of employment in Goods and Service sectors (2015)

Goods Services

Source: 2015 Labour Force Survey

Service sector

Over three percent of B.C.'s Service sector jobs were located in this region. The top three Service sectors ranked by the highest share of employment are: Other services, Wholesale and retail trade, and Public administration.

Goods sector

Nearly five percent of B.C.'s Goods sector (Agriculture, Forestry, Mining, oil and gas, Fishing, hunting and trapping, Utilities, Construction and Manufacturing) jobs were in Cariboo and heavily dependent on forest sector operations.

B.C. Labour Market Outlook (2017-2027) for this region

Composition of job openings

New jobs due to economic growth:
10.0%
2,600 openings

Replacement of retiring workers:
90.0%
23,300 openings

Source: B.C. Labour Market Outlook

Employment outlook

2017
2022
2027

Forecasted 10-year total employment growth:	3,100
Forecasted average annual employment growth rate:	0.4%

Source: B.C. Labour Market Outlook

Top 10 occupations	Job openings	Employment growth
Top 10 occupations
Transport truck drivers (NOC 7511)	Job openings 960	Employment growth 0.2%
Retail and wholesale trade managers (NOC 0621)	Job openings 880	Employment growth 0.6%
Retail salespersons (NOC 6421)	Job openings 860	Employment growth 0.7%
Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses (NOC 3012)	Job openings 730	Employment growth 0.6%
Janitors, caretakers and building superintendents (NOC 6733)	Job openings 700	Employment growth 0.9%
Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates (NOC 3413)	Job openings 610	Employment growth 1.0%
Administrative officers (NOC 1221)	Job openings 580	Employment growth 0.6%
Social and community service workers (NOC 4212)	Job openings 570	Employment growth 0.9%
Accounting technicians and bookkeepers (NOC 1311)	Job openings 550	Employment growth 0.7%
Light duty cleaners (NOC 6731)	Job openings 480	Employment growth 1.3%

View all top occupations

Top 10 industries	Job openings	Employment growth
Top 10 industries
Manufacturing	Job openings 5,840	Employment growth 0.2%
Forestry and Logging with Support Activities	Job openings 3,670	Employment growth -1.8%
Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction	Job openings 3,570	Employment growth 0.4%
Agriculture and Fishing	Job openings 3,010	Employment growth 0.4%
Transportation and Warehousing	Job openings 2,690	Employment growth 0.8%
Retail Trade	Job openings 1,350	Employment growth 0.6%
Information, Culture and Recreation	Job openings 1,130	Employment growth 0.9%
Utilities	Job openings 1,020	Employment growth 0.3%
Construction	Job openings 980	Employment growth -1.5%
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	Job openings 700	Employment growth 1.2%

Top Industries for this region

Cariboo

Latest numbers for this region in September 2018

Regional overview

Key facts

Population distribution

Age distribution

Employment statistics

Full-time employment rate by region

Region

Unemployment rate

This region's industries and sectors

Goods and Services sectors

Share of employment in Goods and Service sectors (2015)

Service sector

Goods sector

B.C. Labour Market Outlook (2017-2027) for this region

Composition of job openings

Employment outlook

Top 10 occupations