Canada’s unemployment rate increased once again in December.
Statistics Canada said it went from 6.5 per cent in November to 6.8 per cent in December.
In October, it was 6.9 per cent, while in August and September it was 7.1 per cent.
British Columbia’s unemployment rate, meanwhile, stayed put at 6.4 per cent.
It was a mixed bag for the province’s metropolitan areas, with StatCan revealing the following unemployment rates:
Kelowna: 8.6 per cent (down from 11 per cent in November)
Kamloops: 7.5 per cent (down from 8.8 per cent in November)
Chilliwack: 7.4 per cent (up from 7 per cent in November)
Abbotsford-Mission: 6.9 per cent (down from 7.2 per cent in November)
Vancouver: 6.3 per cent (up from 6.2 per cent in November)
Victoria: 4.3 per cent (up from 4.1 per cent in November)
Nanaimo: 6.7 per cent (up from 6.6 per cent in November)
In Kelowna, which had Canada’s highest unemployment rate in November, the labour force – people working or looking for work – shrank by 4,000 in December.
Among those in the labour force, 200 fewer had jobs in December compared with November (131,500 versus 131,700). Nonetheless, the shrinkage in the labour force meant there were 3,900 fewer people classed as unemployed in the city, bringing the unemployment rate down.
Compared with December 2024, there were 5,700 more unemployed people in Kelowna in December 2025. That’s an increase of 86.4 per cent, according to StatCan.
Returning to the national picture, employment increased overall by 8,200 despite the growth in the unemployment rate.
There were 1.6 million unemployed people looking for work in December, however.
StatCan said people aged 55 and older gained 33,000 jobs, while those aged 15 to 24 lost 27,000.
Health care and social assistance added 21,000 jobs, while professional/scientific/technical services lost 18,000.
Average hourly wages increased 3.4 per cent on an annual basis in December, reaching $37.06.
