Statistics Canada published its September jobs survey on October 9. In the Vancouver area, the unemployment rate rose to 7.1%, and across British Columbia construction lost more jobs than any other industry.
What changed in the Vancouver area
The unemployment rate is the share of people who are working or looking for work and who do not have a job. For the Vancouver area, Statistics Canada’s adjusted estimate was 7.1% in September 2026, up from 6.5% in August and from 6.2% in September 2025. The adjustment takes out the usual seasonal swing, so September can be compared with August.
The same table estimates 1,699,100 people employed in September, compared with 1,719,000 in August. People without a job and looking for one rose from 119,400 to 129,400. A year earlier, employment was 1,688,300, and the labour force (people working or looking) was 1,799,800. In September 2026 the labour force was 1,828,400. The area has slightly more jobs than last September, and a larger share of people looking for work. The figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
This is the whole Vancouver area in that table. It is a regional rate, not a rate for one city. Statistics Canada’s 2021 census lists Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody in the Vancouver area, along with Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey and many other communities. I work in Port Moody, so I read 7.1% as the jobs backdrop for the Tri-Cities, BC and the cities around us.
The survey describes the week of September 13 to 19.
Construction lost the most jobs in B.C.
The Province of British Columbia’s highlights of the same survey say employment in B.C. fell by 20,200 in September. Full-time employment fell by 16,700 and part-time employment fell by 3,600. Employment was also 14,500 lower than a year earlier. Statistics Canada’s news release rounds the monthly drop to 20,000, or 0.7%, and calls it the province’s first monthly decrease since March.
Goods-producing industries lost 15,700 jobs. Services-producing industries lost 4,600. By industry, construction had the largest decline, down 9,800.
B.C.’s unemployment rate edged down by a tenth of a percentage point, to 6.4%, because 22,800 people left the labour force. They were not counted as looking for work, so the rate can ease while jobs disappear. The national rate was 6.5%. The Vancouver-area rate, at 7.1%, is above both.
Wages moved the other way. The province says the average hourly wage in B.C. rose by $0.42, to $39.49. That is 4.1% higher than a year earlier, and the highest provincial average.
Bryan Yu, chief economist at Central 1 Economics, told CBC News the result was “not a great number.” He added:
“Really it aligns with a soft economic environment when we think about some of the newer trade risks that we’ve seen, a pretty slow housing market.”
CBC News reported that Yu tied the construction losses to that weak housing market.
What this means for you
If you're buying: treat 7.1% as background, then look at your own file. A lender qualifies you on your income and debts. Ask what you qualify for before you write an offer in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam or Port Moody, and keep a financing condition. If your pay depends on construction, the loss of 9,800 construction jobs is a reason to leave room in the budget. A price comes from recent sales of similar homes. Looking for a realtor in Coquitlam? My buyer guide for the Tri-Cities, BC is where I keep neighbourhood notes.
If you're selling: some buyers take longer when the jobs news is soft. Start the price from recent sales near you, and make the home easy to show. One provincial jobs report is context for the conversation. It is not a promise about your sale price or how long a listing will take.
If you're renting, or you're a newcomer: average hourly pay in B.C. is higher than a year ago, and the province has fewer jobs than a year ago. If you are moving to Greater Vancouver, line up income documents and a housing budget before you arrive. My guide to relocating to Greater Vancouver covers neighbourhoods and the commute, including the Tri-Cities, BC. My leasing covers all of Greater Vancouver. The relocation rental service for tenants is $1,500 plus GST, the federal goods and services tax, paid by the tenant: $750, non-refundable, at the start, and $750 once a rental is secured. Reach out 4 to 6 weeks before the move.