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Victoria employers ‘desperately looking for people’

Greater Victoria’s unemployment rate remains one of the lowest in the country at five per cent. Only Guelph, Ont., is lower at 4.7 per cent, and Vancouver at 4.9 per cent. Last month, the number of people with jobs held steady at 187,000.
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Job fairs are a tool being used by employers seeking to fill job vacancies in a tight employment market

Greater Victoria’s unemployment rate remains one of the lowest in the country at five per cent.

Only Guelph, Ont., is lower at 4.7 per cent, and Vancouver at 4.9 per cent.

Last month, the number of people with jobs held steady at 187,000. Another 600 started searching for jobs, Statistics Canada said today.

There are also 7,000 more people working in the capital region than a year ago, the federal agency said.

The largest increase occurred in the professional, scientific and technical sector with 5,600 more on the job.

Public administration saw 3,700 more people working.

The largest decline was 3,000 in wholesale and retail trade. Educational services followed with a drop of 2,000 jobs.

Greater Victoria’s tight job market means that many employers are on the hunt for workers.

“Employers are desperately looking for people,” Garth Yoneda, GT Hiring Solutions manager of community relations, said today.

At a Work B.C. job fair he organized on Wednesday, he had to turn away employers wanting to participate in the event. A total of 47 employers showed up, representing a range of sectors.

The event attracted 811 job hunters, he said. Yoneda said there was particular demand in the construction sector, which is “really hurting for people.” A steady demand for home care workers continues.

“This should be a time for slowing down in the restaurant and food and beverage industry and it is not (happening).”

It seems that employers are more willing to hire people who need to be trained on the job, Yoneda said.

The next major job fair is March 16.

Provincially, B.C. leads the country with the lowest unemployment rate among provinces and territories.

Last month, employment climbed by 15,000 in B.C., Statistics Canada said.

“At the same time, the unemployment rate increased by 0.5 of a percentage point to 6.2 per cent as more people searched for work. Despite this increase, the unemployment rate remained the lowest among the provinces.

On a year-over-year basis, B.C. had the fastest employment growth rate among the provinces at 2.4 per cent, with 56,000 new jobs.