Employment
The number of people employed in the Thompson Okanagan Region decreased slightly from 285,900 in February 2020 to 285,700 in February 2021. Simultaneously, the number of people in the labour force increased from 305,500 in February 2020 to 308,900 in February 2021. Last month, employment rates were 59.7% in B.C. and 58.4% in Canada, while the Thompson Okanagan Region was 56.8%. The unemployment rate in the Thompson Okanagan Region increased to 7.5% in February.
Source: Statistics Canada LFS
Airport Passenger Volumes
Kamloops Airport, along with our partners in the airline, tourism and travel industries, continues to experience the dramatic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although traffic increased marginally from the third quarter, passenger numbers are expected to remain low until such time as government-imposed travel restrictions and advisories for non- essential travel are rescinded. In response to these restrictions and the resulting reduction in customer demand, scheduled services from our airline partners have been significantly impacted.
Source: Kamloops Airport Authority
Real Estate
British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 10,918 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in February 2021, an increase of 89.1 per cent over February 2020 and over a thousand sales higher than the previous February record, set in 2016.
Total active residential listings were down 28.7 per cent to 20,185 units in February, the lowest level of provincial active listings on record, going back to 2000. Fortunately, new listings have increased considerably, but given the pace of sales, total inventory of homes for sale remains severely depleted.
Sources: Kamloops and District Real Estate Association, BC Real Estate Association, and Canadian Real Estate Association
Housing Sales across the Province February 2021
| Board | Avg. Price ($) | Unit Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Kamloops | 515,293 | 283 |
| Greater Vancouver | 1,139,068 | 3,852 |
| Fraser Valley | 953,374 | 2,692 |
| Victoria | 865,235 | 805 |
| Chilliwack | 677,410 | 533 |
| Vancouver Island | 606,904 | 891 |
| Kootenay | 427,812 | 279 |
| BC Northern | 358,536 | 344 |
| Powell River | 442,900 | 37 |
Housing Construction
There were 28 new housing starts in Kamloops in February 2021, which was up from the 16 starts in February 2020. The 28 housing starts represented $7,780,100 in construction value, compared to $4,946,384 in construction value for the 16 housing starts in February of the previous year.
Source: City of Kamloops; Statistics Canada
Building Permits
In February 2021, the City of Kamloops issued 38 residential building permits valued at $8,410,660, a decrease over total permits issued in February of the previous year at a value of $5,801,407. A total of 4 commercial building permits were issued in February 2021 with a value of $1,505,000 compared to the 9 permits issued in February 2020 with a value of $2,688,720.
Source: City of Kamloops
Business Licenses
Kamloops issued 82 new business license applications in February 2021 up from the 80 from the previous year.
171
Business Licenses
Issued (YTD)
70
Residential Building Permits
Issued (YTD)
13
Commercial Building Permits
Issued (YTD)
Source: City of Kamloops
