A Guide to the BC Economy and Labour Market
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  What is the New Economy?  

Tourism and high tech are part of what’s often called the new economy. Trends in these sectors are followed with great interest by the media and other observers of the economy. Many see them as future, or even current, growth engines in the economy. That view may be somewhat optimistic, as both sectors are relatively small compared to some other industries. However, some of the fastest-growing industries in the economy are in this group.

Tourism, high tech sectors and other industries that have exhibited particularly strong growth during the last 15 years are a part of the new economy. Also, an overview of the rapid growth in self-employment that has occurred since the 1990s is included here.

Measuring GDP and employment in the tourism and high-tech sectors

Firms in the tourism and high tech sectors don’t belong to a single industry or group of industries. They produce many different types of goods and services. In the case of tourism, the element that ties them together is the clients that they serve. In the high tech sector, the common element is the degree to which the goods and services that they produce are viewed as high tech products.

GDP and employment data for these sectors aren’t available from the usual sources, as both tourism and high tech include some (or all) of the activities of an otherwise diverse group of industries. BC Stats has developed estimates for these sectors by attributing part of the output or employment of other (standard) industries to these special groupings. For example, it’s estimated that about 23% of the activities of the food and beverage service industry are tourism related. Virtually all of the GDP and employment in accommodation services is also attributed to tourism. The proportions that are used are based on research that’s been done by BC Stats.

How should you interpret and use this data?

Because both tourism and high tech are special groupings of industries (or parts of industries), the data for these sectors isn’t independent of the GDP and employment figures published for standard industries. This means that if you’re comparing the tourism or high tech sectors with other industries, you need to be aware of what’s included in these special groupings, otherwise double-counting could be a problem.

For example, computer systems design is part of the professional, scientific & technical services industry, but is also included in the high tech sector. This means that the GDP and employment associated with computer systems design is counted in both industry groupings, and you need to keep that in mind when you’re making comparisons.

Many industries have some tourism and high tech-related activities

  Figure 1  
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Many industries have some tourism and high tech-related activities

Source: BC Stats

Other factors to consider

BC Stats’ estimates of GDP for the high tech sector are based on information that was published in 2008, so the latest year for which this data is available is 2007. However, the tourism estimates have been updated to include information for 2008.

As well, it should be noted that this information is only available for the period from 1997 on.

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Employment data from different sources

The employment data in this publication comes from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), a monthly survey of households. The Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH) is another source of employment information. SEPH data is based on information supplied directly by employers and is available at a greater level of industry detail. For this reason, it has been used to calculate employment in the tourism and high tech sectors.

There are some differences in the concepts on which the SEPH and LFS numbers are based. For example, the SEPH figures don’t include workers who are:

  • Self-employed;
  • Have jobs in agriculture and fishing; or
  • Work in private households.

This means that the employment figures for tourism and high tech don’t include any self-employed workers. Self-employment is a significant factor in some of the industries included in these sectors, so the figures are very likely underestimated.

In addition, it should be noted that when the data for tourism or high tech is compared to total employment, the all-industry total from SEPH doesn’t include agriculture, fishing or private households. This means that the share of total employment that’s attributable to tourism or high tech may be overstated. However, these industries account for a relatively small percentage of total employment in the province.

Most of the difference between LFS and SEPH data is due to the exclusion of the self-employed from the SEPH estimates. About 19% of the province’s workforce is self-employed, and that is roughly the size of the difference between the two sets of employment estimates. Agriculture, fishing and private households together account for only 2% of total employment in BC.

Despite these data issues, the information on tourism and high tech is useful for analyzing trends in these two high-profile sectors of the economy.

The GDP figures are calculated using the same source of data as for other industries, so they are comparable with information for other industries.

Total employment estimates from the Survey of Employment, Payrolls & Hours are about 16% lower than those from the Labour Force Survey

  Figure 2  
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Total employment estimates from the Survey of Employment, Payrolls & Hours are about 16% lower than those from the Labour Force Survey

Source: Labour Force Survey & Survey of Employers, Payrolls and Hours

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A Guide to the BC Economy and Labour MarketA Guide to the BC Economy and Labour Market