Yesterday (April 6th), Northern Development Initiative Trust released their State of the North report which covers the economy in year two of the pandemic and how key industries fared.
In the latest report, it said that the Cariboo employment had been going up year over year, however it still sits below what the number was back in 2019. The region is still seeing a labour shortage, slow growth in population, and risks of flood, fires, and the war in Eastern Europe.
“We’ve got confidence in the regional economy until about the middle of this decade.” says Joel McKay, Chief Executive Officer for Northern Development Initiative Trust.
“When you look at what’s happening globally, and the fact that more close to home we don’t have a lot of major private sector investment opportunities that would drive new job creation, we’re not as optimistic.”
McKay added that the one thing to watch out for is if there is further consolidation in the forestry sector in the Cariboo, and you lose more primary sector jobs. Something like this could change the outcome of what happens over the next few years.