Prince George Economy Remains Strong

By 250 News

The fifth year of the benchmarking of Prince George’s economy shows that over the past five years, there have been some gains, but Prince George lags when it comes to  housing, population and new business growth.

Progress Prince George compares  P.G with Nanaimo, Chilliwack, Kamloops, Kelowna and Kamloops.

Prince George is competitive with infrastructure growth, ranking in the middle with commercial, industrial and institutional new investment on a per capita basis.

On the plus size, Prince George continues to have very competitive costs of living, but must improve its participation in international immigration as a growth strategy.  Initiatives Prince George CEO  Gerry Offet says there will soon be a project launched to  attract people from other provinces, other areas of B.C. and from other countries. "Our competitors are already going to England and Europe with a suitcase full of jobs needing to be filled" says Offet.  "It will require a change of mindset" says Offet.  "It has been  enough in the past to  advertise job openings by word of mouth, but  that is changing."

When it comes to income, Prince George residents claimed $1.8 billion of total income in 2006, exceeded only by Kelowna.

Prince George’s employment rate remains the highest of all the benchmark communities used for comparison, but Kamloops is coming on strong.

Prince George’s unemployment continues to fall and since 2002  a net 1700 jobs have been created.

The bottom line of the report is that the Prince George economy is strong, and has shown a resilience to the adjustment in the forestry sector over the past five years.

Offet says  the latest timber supply report ( see How Long Will Beetle Wood Last)  makes it clear there are  challenges ahead "I can't  think of a commodity that  is more vulnerable than forestry,  vulnerable to  political decisions, vulnerable to the  value of the Canadian dollar,  vulnerable to the housing starts in the U.S.      The message is that  when it comes to developing a sustainable  community  you have to diversify."

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