Kootenay unemployment rate drops

Statistics Canada says the unemployment rate in the Kootenays stood at 5.3 per cent in November, down from 6.3 per cent a year ago.

The national statistical agency said there were 76,500 people working in the Kootenays last month, compared to 79,800 in November 2020.

There were also 4,300 people looking for work, versus 5,400 last year. The population increased from 137,700 in 2020 to 139,600 in 2021.

The Kootenay rate a bit was lower than the provincial jobless rate of 5.6 per cent.

The national rate was six per cent, which was within 0.3 percentage points of the last pre-pandemic figure, recorded in February 2020.

StatsCan says overall the economy picked up another 154,000 jobs in November.