P.G. Not One of the Best Cities to Find Work? Don’t Believe Everything You Hear.
Prince George, B.C.- According to BCBusiness.ca when it comes to the best communities in B.C. in which to work, Prince George ranks 27 out of 36 communities examined.
In the first ever ranking of this kind conducted by BCBusiness, the community which has been ranked as the best in the province when it comes to finding work is, Fort St. John.
The BCBusiness article says with the population growth over the past 5 years coming in at 6.34%, average household income of $109,748 and income increasing by 18.2% over the past five years, the ‘Energetic City’ is the best community in the province in which to find work.
According to the report, Prince George, Quesnel, Williams Lake, Prince Rupert and Terrace are all in the bottom ten as they have struggled with the downturn in forestry, lack of population growth and lower household income. However, B.C. Business says all of that could change as resource development is poised to put at least some of these communities on the map and that could have a significant positive impact on their fortunes.
At a time when Initiatives Prince George is trying to recruit people to come to this city with the MoveUp Prince George marketing campaign and the online job openings directory, the BCBusiness report sheds an unflattering light on the community.
IPG CEO Heather Oland questions the validity of the BCBusiness survey because of the source of information used to rank the communities “In this BC Business article, the statistics came from the National Household Survey which is well known to have significant limitations, specifically around the interpretation of labour and employment.” As an example, Oland points to the unemployment rate for Prince George. The article pegs the rate at 9.96%. In reality, the rate of unemployment in Prince George has been below 6% in each month of this year and has been hovering around the 4.5% mark since the summer, slipping to 4.3% in November “There is a big difference between 4.3% and 9.96%” says Oland.
Two other recent surveys have ranked Prince George much higher. One pegged the City among the top ten Canadian Cities in which to find work, and IPG’s own workforce intelligent study found Prince George to be among the top 12 Canadian Cities in which to find employment. Both of those surveys relied on Labour Force Survey data, not the National Household Survey. Still, Oland says there are a couple of positive notes in the BC Business report, “There is a much more reliable indicator of a community’s growth in the article that is not part of the National Household Survey and that is income growth and average household income. In both those areas, Prince George scored very high with income growth of over 11% and average household income of more than $83 thousand dollars. So I think it’s important to look around us, look to what we know to be true.”
She says the article does not reflect the reality of Prince George and IPG will continue working to tell the real story of P.G. “We will get back on the horse, and keep talking about the story and the reality we know to be true.”
Comments
Of course the BCBusiness.ca survey must be incorrect. It must also be incorrect according to Oland that there was a downturn in the forest industry, stagnant population growth in PG, and incomes were not increasing. I mean how could anyone not believe Oland from IPG that PG is a bed of roses. Kind of reminds me of when Mcleans survey of crime capital of Canada had PG at the top of the list and city council called the crime survey all wrong.
Got to protect all those high paying jobs at IPG at the expense of the taxpayer.
I for one agree that the city of PG is a growing city and a great city to invest in and am a firm believer that within the next few years the city will grow
When ipg speaks always question what they say and their motives.
Speaking of ipg, isn’t it time for a cleanse around there?
Just wait….in the new year IPG will introduce their new International Relations Liaison. You will recognize her, she use to be a politician in these parts. (Relax folks, I might be kidding).
What good is 109,000 if you can’t find a doctor! Compare apples to apples, I’ll take PG
PG certainly is not growing in terms of population, student enrollment, in UNBC, CNC, and School District 57.
So just where is it growing. I suspect most new homes are built by people who already live here, and then they sell their old home to their kids, or visa versa. We do have a number of people who move in from the outlying areas, which account for some home buying and rentals. Plus some new people being born, however we lose a lot from people moving out and dying.
We need to look at this situation from a different perspective.
As an example we know that we have a large number of people working two jobs in this community, just to get 40 hours per week. So the question is, when the count the people working is this information taken from the business payroll, and if so is there any system in place to determine if we are double counting.????
Remember that a family of four 10 years ago, might have had one car, and one house. Now with the kids grown up you could have 3 cars, plus two houses,, and not have any change in the population, until they have kids.
Anyone seen rental rates in FSJ? $1500 a month for an apartment, $2500 for a house. Food is more expensive. Your $109,000 doesn’t go far!
FSJ is too expensive. I’ve lived there and I hope I never have to return. FSJ is BC’s Ft McMurray…which is good for some but not for me.
That said…it is quite easy to find work there as most everyone is hiring. If you can find decent housing and keep your costs down then you can make a go of it.
I’d take PG over FSJ any day of the week.
Saying average income in PG more than 83 thousand dollars- but half the population is most likely 25-30 thousand dollars a year.
I assume that this BC Business survey was conducted before the recent hemorrhaging of the oil business. The oil patch (incl. FSJ) may not be the best place to find work anymore.
metalman.
I agree that Fort St John is damn expensive to live in. Lived there for 20 plus years before moving back here.
As stated in this article: “In both those areas, Prince George scored very high with income growth of over 11% and average household income of more than $83 thousand dollars. So I think it’s important to look around us, look to what we know to be true.”
The sad reality of this statement is that one of the fastest growing segments of the workforce, both in size and in income levels is our public sector!
We have more Public Sector employment than ever, with higher wages than ever!! I would suggest that the average household income of more than $83 thousand is dramatically skewed upwards by the high incomes enjoyed by the public sector!
The public sector seems to be doing very well, the rest of the working population?? Probably not so much!!
Heather should be the next to go. Shes totally living in a dream world. The facts say 9.5% is unemployed. Heather says nope 4.5%. She is protected by a a subsity of $1,250,000. per year. Compliments of the PG taxpayer. IPG is a red herring. Everyone knows this, so why are we putting up with it? She needs to catch a ride with Sheri.
“We have more Public Sector employment than ever”
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Over the period from 1981 to 2011, public sector employment in Canada was at its highest in or around 1988. From there it was in steady decline until around 2000, before it trended up again to where it currently sits. As of 2011 it was at or around the 1994 level. Public sector employment in BC followed a similar trend.
As for PG, I’d agree that a larger percentage of the population in 2014 is employed in the public sector than there was in decades past. Such is the reality when the city is transitioning from a mill town to a health and education service centre. This trend is not the case for every city though.
PG should actually be glad that it does have such a healthy investment of public sector dollars. If it didn’t, it would be plodding along with a population of 40,000 to 50,000 people, there would be an associated drop in the private sector, people would still be shipping their kids off to UBC for school and visiting them when they flew down for medical procedures that they couldn’t get at home.
Oh and I’d much rather live in PG making $75K than FSJ making $125 even. Money isn’t everything, quality of life is a HUGE consideration.
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