How has Prince George’s economy managed over the last month?
Every month, the City of Prince George releases an economic update that provides an overview of how the city has fared during the last 30 or so days.
November economic update info graph. (via City of Prince George) Jobs
Prince George's employment rate in November was 63.3 percent, a decrease of 5.4 per cent from the same month in November 2017, when it was 68.7 per cent.
The employment rate of 63.3 per cent for Prince George is higher than British Columbia's provincial rate of 62. per cent and Canada's national rate of 61.7 per cent.
Housing
The B.C. Northern Real Estate Board has also reported a decrease in the average house sale price for a single-detached home.
Last month, the average price was $337,878 with 56 units sold in Prince George while in November 2017, the average price was $350,297 with 66 units sold. That is a decrease of 3.5 per cent when compared to the same month last year.
Construction
However, one sector of the economy that does not seem to be losing any steam is housing construction.
The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported 36 total housing starts in Prince George during November 2018 and that includes 14 single-family dwellings and 22 multiples.
The same time last year there were only nine single-family dwelling starts in November 2017 — that is an increase of 300 per cent over the same month last year.
Year-to-date total housing starts in Prince George were up to 360 in November 2018, compared to 210 total housing starts through November 2017, an increase of 71 per cent.
Year-to-date total housing completions in Prince George reinforce this economic activity. In 2017, Prince George recorded 149 total houses completed during this time period while 2018 year-to-date total houses completed totalled 294, an increase of 97 per cent.
Building permits
The city issued 58 building permits valued at $9,319,401 in November 2018. This is a 25 per cent increase in total dollar value of permits over November 2017, when 33 permits were issued at a value of $7,451,241.
The November 2018 permits issued included $6,201,823 in single-family permits, $1,635,828 in multiple-family permits, and $3,917,100 in commercial permits.
Year-to-date building permit statistics continue to show strong building activity in Prince George for 2018.
In November 2018, a year-to-date total value of $182,029,079 in building permits was issued compared to November 2017, when year-to-date building permits came in at $115,737,322.
