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ROBERTS CREEK — When computer programmer David Chisholm moved to the Sunshine Coast, he brought his job with him.

“You can take your kids to the playground and everyone you talk to works at home or has a spouse that works at home,” he said.

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More than 30 per cent of people employed in Gibsons, Sechelt and the surrounding communities either work at home or have no fixed workplace, according to Statistics Canada. The average for B.C. is just 19 per cent.

Rather than chasing jobs with traditional employers, people on the coast are creating their own jobs.

“That’s a lot of tech geeks, a lot of writers, architects, designers and music producers,” Chisholm said. “Home-based workers are the single biggest sector of the coast’s economy.”

A local business study found that work-at-home professionals represent 28 per cent of the economy of the lower coast, double that of tourism, said Chisholm, who is chair of the Sunshine Coast Regional Economic Development Organization.