We know that uncertainty continues to remain in the global economy and we expect to see some monthly fluctuations in jobs numbers. That is why we will continue to create an environment that is welcoming to investment and business. Current statistics show that the BC Jobs Plan is working: The economy is growing and creating jobs. Economy B.C. led the country in economic growth in 2015, with the economy expanding by 3.3% (or $7.4 billion), ahead of Ontario (+2.5%), New Brunswick (+2.3%) and all other provinces. In 2011, B.C. s economic growth rate ranked third among provinces; in 2015, B.C. ranked first in Canada. B.C. achieved its Jobs Plan target of being in the Top two in GDP growth in Canada by 2015. Since 2011, B.C. s economy has expanded by nearly $25 billion (or +12.1%), ahead of Alberta (+11.1%), Manitoba (+9.9%), Saskatchewan (+9.3%), and all other provinces. Table 1: Real Gross Domestic Product at Market prices* 2011 2015 Change $billion Change Change from from Rank $billion from Rank 2011 to 2010 2014 2015 Newfoundland and Labrador 27.9 2.9% 4 27.3-2.0% 9-2.4% Prince Edward Island 4.9 2.0% 7 5.2 1.3% 5 6.1% Nova Scotia 35.9 0.5% 9 36.2 1.0% 7 0.8% New Brunswick 28.7 0.2% 10 28.9 2.3% 3 0.8% Quebec 321.6 1.9% 8 337.9 1.2% 6 5.1% Ontario 614.6 2.4% 6 665.0 2.5% 2 8.2% Manitoba 54.0 2.5% 5 59.4 2.2% 4 9.9% Saskatchewan 57.5 5.3% 2 62.9-1.3% 8 9.3% Alberta 279.7 6.4% 1 310.6-3.6% 10 11.1% British Columbia 206.4 3.0% 3 231.3 3.3% 1 12.1% * Preliminary GDP estimates for 2016 will be released by Statistics Canada on May 1, 2017. Updated April 7, 2017 Page 1 of 5
Labour Market Employment B.C. has record employment in the province, with over 2.4 million British Columbians working. Since the launch of Jobs Plan () B.C. has added 226,400 new jobs: Over 93% of these jobs are in full-time employment, and over 89% are in the private sector. Since the launch of Jobs Plan (): o B.C. is leading the country in job creation with employment growth of +10.2%, ahead of Alberta (+8.0%), Saskatchewan (+7.0%), Ontario (+5.7%) and all other provinces. [Table 2] o B.C. is leading the country in full-time job creation with employment growth of +12.4%, ahead of Saskatchewan (+6.5%), Ontario (+6.3%), Manitoba (+6.2%), Alberta (+6.0%) and all other provinces. [Table 3] o B.C. leads private sector job creation growth in Canada (+14.4%), followed by Saskatchewan (+9.0%) and ahead of PEI (+8.9%), Manitoba (+7.9%), Ontario (6.9%) and all other provinces. B.C. has added 202,300 new private sector jobs since August 2011. [Table 4] Table 2: Employment Total Newfoundland and Labrador 231,000 225,500-5,500-2.4% 10 Prince Edward Island 72,200 72,700 500 0.7% 7 Nova Scotia 454,200 450,500-3,700-0.8% 9 New Brunswick 354,500 353,600-900 -0.3% 8 Quebec 3,997,900 4,193,900 196,000 4.9% 5 Ontario 6,684,500 7,068,600 384,100 5.7% 4 Manitoba 611,900 640,500 28,600 4.7% 6 Saskatchewan 533,100 570,400 37,300 7.0% 3 Alberta 2,120,400 2,289,300 168,900 8.0% 2 British Columbia 2,216,600 2,443,000 226,400 10.2% 1 Updated April 7, 2017 Page 2 of 5
Table 3: Employment Full-Time Newfoundland and Labrador 194,500 191,200-3,300-1.7% 10 Prince Edward Island 60,000 62,000 2,000 3.3% 7 Nova Scotia 366,700 364,200-2,500-0.7% 9 New Brunswick 297,000 301,400 4,400 1.5% 8 Quebec 3,235,900 3,362,200 126,300 3.9% 6 Ontario 5,417,300 5,759,900 342,600 6.3% 3 Manitoba 489,200 519,600 30,400 6.2% 4 Saskatchewan 442,300 470,900 28,600 6.5% 2 Alberta 1,756,600 1,861,800 105,200 6.0% 5 British Columbia 1,711,600 1,924,000 212,400 12.4% 1 Table 4: Employment Private Sector Newfoundland and Labrador 140,500 144,500 4,000 2.8% 8 Prince Edward Island 39,400 42,900 3,500 8.9% 3 Nova Scotia 279,800 278,400-1,400-0.5% 9 New Brunswick 229,900 228,100-1,800-0.8% 10 Quebec 2,613,300 2,746,000 132,700 5.1% 6 Ontario 4,346,300 4,647,700 301,400 6.9% 5 Manitoba 365,400 394,400 29,000 7.9% 4 Saskatchewan 301,500 328,500 27,000 9.0% 2 Alberta 1,413,700 1,460,400 46,700 3.3% 7 British Columbia 1,403,600 1,605,900 202,300 14.4% 1 Updated April 7, 2017 Page 3 of 5
Unemployment Rate Currently, B.C. s unemployment rate of 5.4% is the lowest in Canada and is below the national unemployment rate of 6.7%. Since the launch of Jobs Plan (): o The unemployment rate in B.C. has declined by 1.9 percentage points (from 7.3%, to 5.4% in March 2017), the largest drop among provinces. o When B.C. had the 4 th lowest unemployment rate, B.C. has moved to first place with the lowest unemployment rate in Canada. Table 5: Unemployment Rate Rank March 2017* Rank Canada 7.3 6.7 Newfoundland and Labrador 13.0 10 14.9 10 Prince Edward Island 11.1 9 10.1 9 Nova Scotia 8.9 7 8.6 8 New Brunswick 9.1 8 8.4 T - 6 Quebec 7.6 6 6.4 T - 4 Ontario 7.5 5 6.4 T - 4 Manitoba 5.3 2 5.5 2 Saskatchewan 4.8 1 6.0 3 Alberta 5.5 3 8.4 T - 6 British Columbia 7.3 4 5.4 1 Updated April 7, 2017 Page 4 of 5
Inter-Provincial Migration The rest of Canada sees British Columbia as the land of economic opportunity: B.C. is gaining population from the rest of Canada. o In 2011, B.C. attracted a net 711 in-migrants from other parts of Canada. o In 2016, B.C. attracted 20,026 net inter-provincial migrants. Inter-Provincial Migration (Net) - Annual 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016* Cumulative Net Migration Newfoundland and Labrador 751 235 222-661 -746-848 -1,047 Prince Edward Island -314-914 -730-1,094-1,132-844 -5,028 Nova Scotia -1,648-3,242-2,918-1,852-1,198-680 -11,538 New Brunswick -1,017-3,069-2,840-3,238-2,624-2,070-14,858 Quebec -5,740-8,975-13,346-13,753-13,541-11,977-67,332 Ontario -5,742-13,138-11,987-14,681-3,080 19,822-28,806 Manitoba -4,171-3,928-6,146-7,336-6,971-6,659-35,211 Saskatchewan 801 1,586-476 -1,947-3,644-5,644-9,324 Alberta 15,968 36,287 36,830 32,036 16,803-10,113 127,811 British Columbia 711-4,322 2,514 12,594 16,742 20,026 48,265 * Statistics Canada annual update of migration estimates for 2016 released on March 23, 2017. International Exports In 2016, $39.4 billion in goods were exported from B.C., an increase of 20.7% since 2011 (+$6.8 billion). B.C. leads the country in 2016 export growth over 2015, with growth of +9.8%, ahead of Ontario (+4.2%) and PEI (+1.1%). Currently 5,995 companies in B.C. export their goods. 86% of exporters are small and medium sized businesses. Investment B.C. has $75 billion in major projects currently under construction (2016Q4), compared to $73.5 billion in 2011Q4 (+2% higher). Of the Province s major taxpayer-supported infrastructure projects, there is over $7.5 billion worth of work going on in communities across B.C. creating over 38,000 jobs during construction. Updated April 7, 2017 Page 5 of 5