B.C. employers reported a very slight decline in their non-farm payrolls in November. From the latest Survey of Employers, Payroll and Hours (SEPH), payrolls in November were virtually unchanged with a decrease of 716 positions.

That put the total job count in B.C. at about 2.54 million positions. Goods-producing industries reported 0.3-per-cent or 1,171 fewer positions while payrolls in services-producing industries were virtually unchanged. The seasonally adjusted job vacancy rate edged down in November to 4.2 per cent from the previous month (4.3 per cent) pointing to increased slack in the economy. The vacancy rate represents approximately 105,700 vacant positions.

Manufacturing saw the largest decline in positions among goods-producing industries, with 1.1-per-cent or 1,615 fewer........

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