1. Home
  2. Labour Market & Industry
  3. B.C. & Regional Profiles
  4. Northeast
Back

Northeast

Table of contents
Regional overview Population distribution Employment statistics
This region's industries and sectors B.C. Labour Market Outlook (2017-2027) for this region
View full profile

Latest numbers for this region in September 2018

56,000
40,100
5.6 %
40,100

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

Regional overview

The Northeast economic region shares a border with Alberta and the Yukon and is part of the Peace River Basin. It is separated from the northwestern part of the province by the Rocky Mountain Trench. The main population centres in the region are Fort St. John and Dawson Creek.

Regional district Key cities
Regional district Northern Rockies Key cities Fort Nelson
Regional district Peace River Key cities Dawson Creek, Fort St. John, Tumbler Ridge, Chetwynd

Key facts

  • Northeast is the least populated region in the province, home to less than two percent of B.C.’s total population.
  • According to the last census, the population of this region was 65,660.
  • About 70 percent of the region’s population was of working age (15-64).
  • The region’s unemployment rate is consistently lower than the provincial rate. In 2015, it was 5.9 percent, compared with 6.2 percent for B.C.
  • About 67 percent of employment in this region was in the Services-producing sector.

Population distribution

Regional district Population
Northern Rockies 5,600
Peace River 60,100
Regional district total 65,700

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 Northeast
  •    % 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%
Northeast employment (2015):
40,100
Total B.C. employment (2015):
2,306,200

Source: 2015 Labour Force Survey

Unemployment rate

10-year unemployment rate in Northeast 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 %
  Northeast
  Low:
4.1 %
  High:
7.0 %
Unemployment rate (2015):
5.9 %
10-year average:
4.4 %

Note:Data for some years is not available and therefore is not shown.

Source: 2015 Labour Force Survey

This region's industries and sectors

Industry Sector
Accommodation and Food Services Services
Agriculture and Fishing1 Goods
Business, Building and Other Support Services Services
Construction Goods
Educational Services Services
Finance, Insurance and Real Estate Services
Forestry and Logging with Support Activities* Goods
Health Care and Social Assistance Services
Information, Culture and Recreation Services
Manufacturing Goods
Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction* Goods
Other Private Services Services
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services Services
Public Administration Services
Retail Trade2 Services
Transportation and Warehousing Services
Utilities Goods
Wholesale Trade2 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

The Northeast region accounted for the smallest percent of provincial employment in 2015.

Service sector

This region had less employment in the Service sector in 2015 than most regions. This was reflected in smaller than average shares (1.2 %) of provincial employment in many Service industries.

Goods sector

In 2015, the Northeast accounted for under three percent of provincial employment in the Goods-producing sector (agriculture, forestry, mining, oil and gas, fishing, hunting and trapping, utilities, construction and manufacturing).

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

Composition of job openings

 
New jobs due to economic growth:
26.8%
4,400 openings
 
Replacement of retiring workers:
73.2%
12,000 openings
Source: B.C. Labour Market Outlook

Employment outlook

  • 2017
  • 2022
  • 2027
Forecasted 10-year total employment growth:   4,500
Forecasted average annual employment growth rate:   1.0%

Source: B.C. Labour Market Outlook

Top 10 occupations

 Job openings Employment
growth
Top 10 occupations
Transport truck drivers (NOC 7511)
Job openings
1,220
Employment growth
1.0%
Retail and wholesale trade managers (NOC 0621)
Job openings
550
Employment growth
0.7%
Central control and process operators, petroleum, gas and chemical processing (NOC 9232)
Job openings
510
Employment growth
1.1%
Administrative officers (NOC 1221)
Job openings
500
Employment growth
1.2%
Accounting technicians and bookkeepers (NOC 1311)
Job openings
450
Employment growth
0.8%
Heavy equipment operators (except crane) (NOC 7521)
Job openings
430
Employment growth
1.7%
Retail salespersons (NOC 6421)
Job openings
390
Employment growth
0.7%
Janitors, caretakers and building superintendents (NOC 6733)
Job openings
320
Employment growth
1.3%
Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics (NOC 7311)
Job openings
310
Employment growth
1.2%
Managers in agriculture (NOC 0821)
Job openings
310
Employment growth
0.3%

View all top occupations
Top 10 industries Job openings Employment
growth
Top 10 industries
Forestry and Logging with Support Activities 3,710 -1.3%
Manufacturing 3,120 0.2%
Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction 2,530 1.5%
Agriculture and Fishing 2,230 0.3%
Transportation and Warehousing 1,410 0.9%
Retail Trade 770 0.6%
Utilities 700 -0.5%
Construction 650 1.9%
Information, Culture and Recreation 450 0.3%
Finance, Insurance and Real Estate 290 0.7%
Top Industries for this region
Forestry and Logging with Support Activities
Manufacturing
Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction
Agriculture and Fishing
Transportation and Warehousing
Related Topics
Learn about B.C. industries Explore jobs in demand Read the B.C. Labour Market Outlook View labour market snapshots