It was another downbeat month for B.C.’s labour market in September with employment down for a fifth consecutive month. Employment fell by 18,000 people or 0.6 per cent, narrowing year-over-year growth to 0.3 per cent. This was well below the national performance of 1.5 per cent.

The province’s unemployment rate rose 0.2 points to six per cent even as the labour force contracted (down 0.4 per cent) in September. The labour participation rate dropped to 63.8 per cent from 64.2 per cent last month, despite a 0.3-per-cent increase in the population. Economic growth has been insufficient to absorb population gains, which is likely leading to a rising pool of discouraged workers.

The decline of part-time work led the overall employment contraction in B.C. in September, falling 2.5 per cent or by 14,600 people. Full-time employment also dropped 0.2 per cent (down 3,400 people), following a decrease seen the previous month. The Vancouver census metropolitan........

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