Prince George, B.C. – More people were  able to find  work last month,  and that helped  the  unemployment rate slip  to 6.9%,  down from the 7.5% recorded in September of  2011.

According to Statistics Canada,  there were  52,500 people working in Prince George last month, an  increase of  2,000 from  a year  ago.  The gains were made  largely in the natural resources and retail wholesale trades sectors.

The unemployment rate  inched up slightly in the  Cariboo to  8.2% from the 8.1% recorded in September of 2011.   Yet,  there were  3800 more  people working in the Cariboo to bring the  nubers of employed to  87,800.

B.C.’s  unemployment rate also increased slightly to sit at 7.0%  last month, up from the 6.8% recorded   in the same month a year ago.  The National  rate of unemployment also increased by .2%  to 7.4% up from 7.2% recorded in September of 2011.