Economic Update Shows Encouraging Turn Around
By 250 News
Tuesday, April 06, 2010 03:57 AM
Prince George, B.C.- Hot off the heels of the KPMG survey which pegged Prince George as the number one community in the pacific northwest for business to locate or relocate, Initiatives Prince George has released its economic update on the community, and for the most part, it looks like things are improving.
Here are some of the numbers put together by IPG, all of the figures are based on February numbers:
Employment
Employment in Prince George was on the rise for the third consecutive month in February, increasing by 1,400 persons (3.3%); employment also rose slightly in BC and across Canada (0.4% and 0.1%, respectively). The increase in employment coincided with a 1,300 person (2.7%) increase in the labour force, leading the number of unemployed persons to decline by 100 (1.6%) and the unemployment rate to decrease 0.6% to 12.3%. Comparatively, the provincial and national labour forces were relatively unchanged, and the number of unemployed persons decreased by 4.3%, and 0.8%, respectively. As a result, BC’s unemployment rate declined by 0.4% (to 7.7%) and Canada’s rate declined by 0.1% (to 8.2%). PG’s employment rate increased 2.1% (to 64.0%) in February, while the rate increased by 0.2% in BC and was unchanged in Canada.
Real Estate
52 single family homes were sold in Prince George in February, with an average price of $247,318 (0.4% lower than the previous month, but 4.8% higher than the same month last year). Year-to-date, average prices were up 7.1% compared to the first two months of 2009 and unit sales were similar, with only 1 less home sold in 2010. Comparatively, year-to-date average prices were up 18.0% provincially and 18.9% nationally over the same period in 2009; unit sales were up 83.3% and 49.6%, respectively, reflecting the extremely low sales activity that occurred at the beginning of 2009.
Housing construction
There were 6 housing starts in Prince George in February (all single family units), 4 more than in the same month last year. Year-to-date, starts were up 66.7% over the same period last year. Comparatively, year-to-date starts were up 104.5% and 58.6%, respectively, in BC and Canada, compared to the first two months of last year. There were 11 residential units completed in the city in February (all single family units), 27 fewer than in the same month in 2009, and there were 172 housing units under construction (129 single family and 43 multiple dwelling units); 41.7% fewer than in February 2009.
Building Permits
The City of Prince George issued 31 building permits valued at $10.5 million in February. The value of permits issued was up 7.3% compared to the same month last year. Institutional building permits accounted for 68.7% of the total value of permits issued last month, boosted by the $7M permit for the foundation for the Cancer Centre for the North parkade. Residential permits made up 21.8% of the value of permits for the month, and Commercial permits made up most of the remainder. The value of total permits issued in the city was up 21.8%, year-to-date, compared to the first two months of 2009. Comparatively, permits were up 107.6% provincially and 32.7% nationally in January.
Business Licenses
The City of Prince George issued 61 new business licenses and 242 business license renewals in February. Year-to-date, new licenses were down 40.7% while renewals were up 26.3% over the same period last year. The total number of business licenses issued year-to-date was up 21.5% compared to the same period in 2009.
Airport Passenger Volumes
59,080 passengers passed through the Prince George airport in January and February. Year-to-date traffic was down 3.4% compared to the first two months of last year. Comparatively, traffic through the Vancouver airport was down 1.9% in January, compared to the same month in 2009.
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Posted by: kidar on April 6 2010 4:59 AM