British Columbia Private Sector Loses 61,700 Jobs
British Columbia saw private-sector employment drop by 3.2 percent while government jobs grew, contrasting with national trends across Canada.
Private-sector employment in British Columbia fell by 61,700 jobs between September 2025 and September 2026, according to data from Statistics Canada. This 3.2 percent decrease occurred as government-sector employment grew by 25,600 positions, a 4.2 percent increase.
These trends diverge from the rest of Canada, where private-sector jobs grew by 1.8 percent and government-sector employment declined by 3.6 percent during the same period. Government-sector workers now represent more than 20 percent of the province's total employment, with compensation for these roles increasing by $22.2 billion, or 32.5 percent.
Between fiscal years 2015/16 and 2025/26, the provincial government added 153,604 full-time equivalents. This expansion of the public workforce coincides with a projected $13.8 billion budget deficit for the 2026/27 fiscal year.
