Employment
The number of people employed in the Thompson Okanagan Region increased from 294,900 in December 2020 to 301,900 in December 2021. Simultaneously, the number of people in the labour force decreased from 319,600 in December 2020 to 316,400 in December 2021. Last month, participation rates were 64.9% in B.C. and 61.9% in Canada, while the Thompson Okanagan Region was 65%. The unemployment rate in the Thompson Okanagan Region decreased from 7.7% in December 2020 to 4.6% in December 2021.
Source: Statistics Canada LFS
Airport Passenger Volumes
The signifigant increases experienced in Q4 can be attributed to the return of leisure and holiday travel., as well as the ad hoc air travel needs due to the closure of highways to the lower mainland in November and December. All of our airline partners increased their capacity in response to this increased demand.
Source: Kamloops Airport Authority
Real Estate
Kamloops, BC – 04-01-2022: The Kamloops and District Real Estate Association (KADREA) reports that a total of 152 residential unit sales were recorded by the Kamloops & District Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in December 2021. This is 34.7 per cent below the numbers that were recorded in December 2020, which was 233. The average MLS® residential price in the area was $663,774, up by approx. 33 per cent from $501,465 recorded in the same month last year. Total sales dollar volume in December stood at $100.8 million, a 13.6 per cent fall from 2020, which was $116.8 million. There were 113 new listings recorded by the Kamloops MLS® last month and there are 714 active listings in the Kamloops & district region, as of January 04, 2021.
Sources: Kamloops and District Real Estate Association
Housing Sales across the Province December 2021
| Board | Avg. Price ($) | Unit Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Kamloops | 631,657 | 159 |
| Greater Vancouver | 1,241,332 | 2,737 |
| Fraser Valley | 1,136,478 | 1,698 |
| Victoria | 1,023,241 | 419 |
| Chilliwack | 837,772 | 236 |
| Vancouver Island | 720,345 | 518 |
| Kootenay | 515,601 | 188 |
| BC Northern | 385,425 | 253 |
| Powell River | 561,582 | 28 |
| South Peace River | 323,862 | 21 |
| Interior | 740,572 | 614 |
Housing Construction
There were 21 new housing starts in Kamloops in December 2021, which was down from the 87 starts in December 2020. The 21 housing starts represented $6,272,000 in construction value, compared to $13,069,972 in construction value for the 87 housing starts in December of the previous year.
Source: City of Kamloops
Building Permits
In December 2021, the City of Kamloops issued 32 residential building permits valued at $7,116,400, a decrease in total permits issued in December of the previous year at a value of $14,007,761. A total of 11 commercial building permits were issued in December 2021 with a value of $23,869,150 compared to the 14 permits issued in December 2020 with a value of $3,775,139.
Source: City of Kamloops
Business Licenses
Kamloops issued 59 new business license applications in December 2021 up from the 42 from the previous year.
892
Business Licenses
Issued (YTD)
510
Residential Building Permits
Issued (YTD)
127
Commercial Building Permits
Issued (YTD)
Source: City of Kamloops
