Employment
The number of people employed in the Thompson Okanagan Region decreased from 282,300 in August 2019 to 267,600 in August 2020. Simultaneously, the number of people in the labour force decreased from 295,900 in August 2019 to 297,600 in August 2020. Last month, employment rates were 57.1% in B.C. and 57.9% in Canada, while the Thompson Okanagan Region was 58.1%. The unemployment rate in the Thompson Okanagan Region remained at 10.1% August.
Source: Statistics Canada LFS
Number of Postings by Occupation, in Kamloops
Airport Passenger Volumes
As expected, passenger numbers in Q2 reflect the negative impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic on the airline, aviation and tourism industries in Kamloops. Passenger numbers are slowly starting to recover domestically, with the increased services of WestJet and reintroduction of service by Air Canada and Central Mountain Air, However, as travel restrictions and quarantine requirements remain in effect for transborder and international destinations, recovery for those sectors will be much slower
Source: Kamloops Airport Authority
Real Estate
The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 10,172 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in August 2020, an increase of 42.8 per cent from August 2019. The average MLS® residential price in BC was $771,309, a 12.7 per cent increase from $684,093 recorded the previous year. Total sales dollar volume in August was $7.8 billion, a 61.1 per cent increase over 2019.
Sources: Kamloops and District Real Estate Association, BC Real Estate Association, and Canadian Real Estate Association
Housing Sales across the Province August 2020
| Board | Avg. Price ($) | Unit Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Kamloops | 456,662 | 349 |
| Greater Vancouver | 1,077,729 | 3,122 |
| Fraser Valley | 820,685 | 1,940 |
| Victoria | 780,978 | 941 |
| Chilliwack | 586,976 | 400 |
| Okanagan Mainline | 636,310 | 1,034 |
| Vancouver Island | 536,669 | 1,071 |
| South Okanagan | 539,451 | 253 |
| Kootenay | 396,310 | 426 |
| BC Northern | 344,507 | 545 |
| Powell River | 438,307 | 56 |
| Northern Lights | 269,514 | 35 |
Housing Construction
There were 18 new housing starts in Kamloops in August 2020, which was up from the 8 starts in August 2019. The 18 housing starts represented $12,466,880 in construction value, compared to $3,389,700 in construction value for the 8 housing starts in August of the previous year.
Source: City of Kamloops; Statistics Canada
Building Permits
In August 2020, the City of Kamloops issued 36 residential building permits valued at $16,635,700, an increase over total permits issued in August of the previous year at a value of $3,833,400. A total of 10 commercial building permits were issued in August 2020 with a value of $17,120,000 compared to the 18 permits issued in August 2019 with a value of $3,837,000.
Source: City of Kamloops
Business Licenses
Kamloops issued 54 new business license applications in August 2020 up from the 53 from the previous year.
402
Business Licenses
Issued (YTD)
319
Residential Building Permits
Issued (YTD)
84
Commercial Building Permits
Issued (YTD)
Source: City of Kamloops
