Employment
The number of people employed in the Thompson Okanagan Region decreased slightly from 270,900 in December 2019 to 270,500 in December 2020. Simultaneously, the number of people in the labour force increased from 285,200 in December 2019 to 293,100 in December 2020. Last month, employment rates were 59.5% in B.C. and 59.4% in Canada, while the Thompson Okanagan Region was 58.5%. The unemployment rate in the Thompson Okanagan Region increased to 7.7% in December.
Source: Statistics Canada LFS
Airport Passenger Volumes
As expected, passenger numbers in Q3 continue to reflect the negative impacts of the COVID 19 pandemic on the airline, aviation and tourism industries in Kamloops. Passenger traffic is slowly recovering domestically with the increased services of WestJet Air Canada and Central Mountain Air However, as travel restrictions and quarantine requirements remain in effect for transborder, international and some interprovincial travelers, recovery for those sectors will be much slower.
Source: Kamloops Airport Authority
Real Estate
The average MLS® residential price in BC was $847,600, an increase of 12.5 per cent from December 2019. Total sales dollar volume was $7 billion, a 77.5 per cent increase year-over-year.
Sources: Kamloops and District Real Estate Association, BC Real Estate Association, and Canadian Real Estate Association
Housing Sales across the Province December 2020
| Board | Avg. Price ($) | Unit Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Kamloops | 492,106 | 211 |
| Greater Vancouver | 1,079,033 | 3,157 |
| Fraser Valley | 898,028 | 1,967 |
| Victoria | 769,941 | 576 |
| Chilliwack | 593,764 | 279 |
| Okanagan Mainline | 711,577 | 661 |
| Vancouver Island | 517,203 | 689 |
| South Okanagan | 546,372 | 172 |
| Kootenay | 424,241 | 221 |
| BC Northern | 319,182 | 286 |
| Powell River | 374,775 | 32 |
| Northern Lights | 254,676 | 689 |
Housing Construction
There were 87 new housing starts in Kamloops in December 2020, which was up from the 16 starts in December 2019. The 87 housing starts represented $13,069,972 in construction value, compared to $3,715,088 in construction value for the 16 housing starts in December of the previous year.
Source: City of Kamloops; Statistics Canada
Building Permits
In December 2020, the City of Kamloops issued 26 residential building permits valued at $14,007,761, an increase over total permits issued in December of the previous year at a value of $4,363,688. A total of 14 commercial building permits were issued in December 2020 with a value of $3,775,139 compared to the 17 permits issued in December 2019 with a value of $11,791,917.
Source: City of Kamloops
Business Licenses
Kamloops issued 42 new business license applications in December 2020 down from the 58 from the previous year.
682
Business Licenses
Issued (YTD)
500
Residential Building Permits
Issued (YTD)
132
Commercial Building Permits
Issued (YTD)
Source: City of Kamloops
