Statistics Canada has unveiled the job numbers for the fourth quarter of 2016, saying British Columbia rose by 21% in the number of job opportunities.

This is a sure sign that the province continues to lead the country in creating those occupations, according to analyst Myriam Hazel.

She says in Northern BC however, the rate dropped by 13% in the final four months of last year.

“Job vacancies fell to about 1,500 compared with the fourth quarter of 2015. The job vacancy rate stood at 2.3%, so little changed from the same quarter one year earlier.”

Hazel adds the number of job vacancies was up by over 6% in Canada as a whole from 2015 to 2016 in the fourth quarter.

For BC altogether, she says the west coast outperformed the nation.

“The national rate is at 2.4% and for British Columbia, the job vacancy rate is at 3.3%; the highest in on the provinces in the fourth quarter of 2016.”

Hazel says when comparing employment to unemployment, no other province or territory comes close.

“British Columbia has the strongest employment growth and the lowest unemployment the job vacancies ratio. Generally, labour markets are tighter when the number of people looking for work which is lower.”

Popular areas of occupation that have increased in BC employment include business, finance, and administration (+2,400), and trades, transport, and equipment operators (+1,700).