Where are the people located?

Southwestern BC is where most of the province's population is located. Six out of 10 British Columbians live in Mainland/Southwest, with another 17% of the province's population located in Vancouver Island/Coast.

Thompson-Okanagan is the third most populous region, home to 12% of all British Columbians. Cariboo (4%), Kootenay (3%), North Coast & Nechako (2%) and Northeast (2%) are more sparsely populated regions.

Three out of four British Columbians live in the southwestern corner of the province

Twelve percent of British Columbians live in rural areas (outside municipal boundaries)

Most (88%) British Columbians live in urban areas-cities, towns, villages and other incorporated districts. The remaining 12% live outside municipal boundaries, in rural parts of the province. This includes people who live close to urban centres as well as those who reside in more remote areas.

Not surprisingly, Mainland/Southwest is the most highly urbanized region-only 2% of its residents live outside municipal boundaries. The rest of the province has a much larger rural population. One in five residents of both Thompson-Okanagan and Vancouver Island/Coast lives in a rural area. In other regions, the rural population share ranges from 36% in both Northeast and Cariboo to 43% in North Coast & Nechako.

What's the age structure of the population?

The population is ageing

British Columbia's population is ageing. The median age in the province was just over 40 in 2006 (the last Census year)-the first time it has been that high. The ageing of the population is the result of two factors.

People are having fewer children than they used to, so the number of young people living in the province is not increasing as fast as its senior population. At the same time, the baby boom generation is getting older. Among working-aged British Columbians, a growing number are in the older age groups rather than at the beginning of their careers. Many baby boomers are now close to retirement or have already stopped working.

Seniors make up a growing share of the total population in every region

Between 1995¹⁹ and 2008, BC's senior population grew 34%, more than double the 16% increase in the total population during this period. Every region has seen a big increase in its senior population.

Nearly a fifth of the population in Thompson-Okanagan is aged 65 or more; in BC, seniors make up 15% of the population

In Thompson-Okanagan, nearly a fifth of the population is aged 65 or more. Vancouver Island/Coast and Kootenay also have comparatively large senior populations. For the province as a whole, seniors make up 15% of the population. Northeast (8%) and North Coast & Nechako (11%) are the regions where seniors make up the smallest percentage of the total population.

How does the size of the senior population affect the labour market and economy in each region? Changes in the size and age structure of the population are linked to changes in employment over time. Many people aged 65 or more are retired, so if there's a large senior population in a region, then a smaller share of its residents are likely to be available for work. This means that if population growth is mainly due to an increase in the number of older people, it's unlikely that employment will be growing at a similar rate.

Thompson-Okanagan has proportionally more seniors than other regions do, and that's one of the reasons why its share of the total population is slightly larger than its share of the workforce.

An older population is more likely to need health care services, but less likely to be enrolled at schools or colleges. In a region where the senior population is growing faster than other age groups, the demand for health care workers is likely to be rising, but there may be fewer jobs available for teachers and other educators. Older people are more likely to be downsizing than investing in new big ticket items. They tend to buy or rent smaller houses or condos, rather than large homes. All of these factors influence the types of businesses and services that are likely to be in demand in regions where there is a large and growing senior population.

Northern regions of the province have a relatively youthful population

The number of children under 15 living in BC has decreased 8% since 1995 even though the province's total population expanded 16% during this period. Mainland/Southwest, where the population grew 23%, is the only region that was home to more children (+3%) in 2008 than in 1995.

The northern regions of the province have a comparatively youthful population, but the number of children is declining. In North Coast & Nechako, where children make up a fifth of the population, the number of young people has declined more than in any other region. There were 34% fewer children living in North Coast & Nechako in 2008 than in 1995. Over the same period, the region's total population shrank 14%.

Cariboo (18%) also has a relatively large number of young people, as does Mainland/Southwest (16%). Thompson-Okanagan (15%) and Vancouver Island/Coast (14%) have proportionally fewer children.

One in five residents of Northeast and North Coast & Nechako is under 15

What are the implications of a relatively large number of young people in the population? Young people are likely to be enrolled in schools, so educational services could be expected to represent a slightly higher than average share of total employment in regions where there are more children. At the same time, most children are not working, so a region with a relatively large population under the age of 15 is likely to have a proportionally smaller workforce.

In every region, at least two-thirds of the population is between the ages of 15 and 64

By far the biggest share of the population in every region is of working age-between the ages of 15 and 64. Mainland/Southwest (71%) and Cariboo (70%) are the regions with the largest percentages of working aged residents. Thompson-Okanagan (66%) and Kootenay (67%), with their large senior populations, have a proportionally smaller working-aged population.

Relative to its population, Mainland/ Southwest has the largest number of working aged residents

What are the characteristics of the workforce?

Eight out of 10 people working in the province have full-time jobs, meaning that they usually spend at least 30 hours a week on the job. Full-time work is most common in Northeast (83%) and Mainland/Southwest (81%). Kootenay, where just over three-quarters of the workers (77%) are employed full time, has the lowest incidence of full-time employment.

Most workers have full-time jobs

Although Kootenay has fewer full-time workers, it has proportionally more self-employed people than any other region. Twenty-three percent of workers in this region are self-employed, well above the 18% average for the province as a whole. Self-employment is much less common in North Coast & Nechako, where just 13% of workers are their own bosses.

The self-employment rate is highest in Kootenay, and lowest in North Coast & Nechako

Forty-seven percent of BC's workforce is female

The number of working-aged women (1,530,600) in the province is slightly higher than the number of men (1,528,500). However, women make up just 47% of the province's workforce. In Northeast, where men outnumber women, the percentage of the workforce that is female is considerably lower (43%). Vancouver Island/Coast (49%) and North Coast & Nechako (48%) are the regions where women make up the largest share of the total workforce.

Northeast and Mainland/Southwest typically have the lowest jobless rates in the province

Unemployment rates are generally lowest in Northeast and Mainland/Southwest and highest in Cariboo and North Coast & Nechako. Between 1995 and 2008, the jobless rate in Northeast averaged 5.7%, one-and-a-half percentage points less than the average for the province (7.2%). Residents of Mainland-Southwest also experienced relatively low jobless rates, averaging 6.6% during this period. At the other end of the spectrum, the unemployment rate in North Coast & Nechako (9.3%) and Cariboo (9.4%) is usually quite a bit higher than in other regions.

What are the characteristics of the regional economies?

Regions with a large rural population are most dependent on the goods sector as a source of employment

The regional economies are as varied as their populations and geographies. In the more rural areas, goods-producing industries play a bigger role than they do in more urban areas. Northeast (39%), Kootenay (31%) and North Coast & Nechako (31%) are the regions where the goods sector employs the largest share of the workforce. Vancouver Island/Coast (18%) and Mainland/Southwest (20%), the most highly urban regions, are the least dependent on goods production as a source of employment.

What's been happening since 1995?

The province's population has expanded 16% since 1995, with Mainland/Southwest (+23%) seeing the strongest population growth over this period. Other fast-growing regions include Thompson-Okanagan (+16%) and Vancouver Island/Coast (+10%). However, North Coast & Nechako (-14%) and Cariboo (-5%) have been losing population, while Kootenay's population was virtually unchanged from 1995 levels.

Mainland/Southwest has the fastest-growing population

Employment in BC has increased nearly twice as much as the province's population

Total employment in the province has increased nearly twice as much as the population, rising 30% between 1995 and 2008. However, there are significant differences in employment trends among the regions. In North Coast & Nechako, the number of people with jobs has shrunk 10%, marginally more than the decline in its population. It's the only region where employment has declined. Kootenay (+3%) and Cariboo (+5%) have seen modest job growth. In Northeast, the number of people working in the region has increased 17% since 1995.

Thompson-Okanagan (+37%) and Mainland/Southwest (+34%), the regions with the fastest-growing populations, have also experienced the strongest job growth since 1995.

...but Thompson-Okanagan has seen the strongest job growth

What's the outlook to 2013?²⁰

It's expected that Mainland/Southwest will outpace the other regions in terms of job growth during the next few years. Thompson-Okanagan is also forecast to experience relatively strong growth, although it will lag behind the average for BC. Kootenay and North Coast & Nechako are expected to experience the slowest job growth.

Mainland/Southwest is expected to outpace the other regions in terms of job growth during the next few years

What comes next?

This brief overview of the regional characteristics of the province's population and labour force illustrates some of the regional differences within the province. However, it's just a superficial overview. Let's take a closer look at the characteristics of each of BC's regions.