Crown Land: Indicators and Statistics - Ministry of Forests

Discussion
Unemployment levels tend to vary over time,
peaking during economic downturns and falling
during periods of greater economic activity. As the
provincial economy has become more diversified
and increasingly service sector oriented, economic
variability and unemployment fluctuations have
been reduced. In general, the more economically
diverse a region is, the more likely that it will sustain
a stable population and avoid high and persistent
unemployment. More economically diverse regions
reported some of the lowest unemployment rates in
the province (e.g. the South Coast).
An increase to a region’s unemployment rate
generally cause a decline in average incomes, a
greater reliance on social assistance, an increase
in out-migration, and a decrease in consumption.
These negative events hinder a region’s ability to
generate and sustain economic growth. Regions with
high employment and falling incomes tend to face a
number of social challenges which adversely affect
quality of life. By contrast, low rates of unemployment
signal both high economic and social viability. The
rate of unemployment is therefore indicative of both
a region’s economic standing and its socio-economic
well-being.
Regional economies which exhibit a heavy reliance
on natural resources sectors are typically more
susceptible to the effects of commodity market
fluctuations. Provincially, the forest sector has
suffered a sustained downturn with significant
workforce reductions. In 2008, there were 17,400
people working in forestry, only two-thirds the level
(26,300) in 1990. This decline is a key reason why
Additional Information
• BC Stats provides a wide range of social statistics for various types of regions throughout BC.
Available: http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/data/lss/social.asp
• BC socio-economic and environmental assessment guidelines, and links to many past socio-economic
assessments:
Available: http://www.al.gov.bc.ca/clad/strategic_land/econ_analysis/
the Skeena, Cariboo and Omineca sub-regions have
some of the higher unemployment rates in the
province in 2006. Meanwhile, the success of other
natural resource sectors (the oil and gas industry in
particular) helped the Peace sub-region to achieve
the lowest unemployment rate of any sub-region.
The average unemployment rate among the
aboriginal population (as reported in the 2006 Census)
is 15%, significantly higher than the overall provincial
unemployment rate of 6%. The proportionately
larger aboriginal populations in the Skeena and
Cariboo sub-regions statistically contribute to the
sub-regions’ higher overall unemployment rates (see
Section 3.2, Population).
Employment opportunities are an important
consideration in regional land use planning and
land management. Many regional land use plans
have a formal, public socio-economic assessment
that evaluates the social and economic impacts of
the proposed plan compared with the status quo (or
base case).
Ministry of
Forests, Lands and
Natural Resource Operations
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