Housing sales in BC last month were one ‘bright spot’ in an otherwise volatile provincial economy according to this article in the Vancouver Sun.
Central 1 said B.C.’s economy appears to be coming out of a recession, but warned in its weekly economic bulletin that “the recovery is generally expected to be weak and volatile.”
B.C.’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate eased slightly compared to a month earlier — a 7.8-per-cent jobless rate in July compared to 8.1 per cent in June.
That statistic is somewhat misleading because a growing number of laid-off workers have abandoned the search for new employment. Eighteen thousand people withdrew from the labor market in July, Central 1 reported.
“Industry-wise, jobs declined in manufacturing and construction, along with educational, accommodation/food and miscellaneous services,” the credit union said.
David Hobden, an economist with Central 1 Credit Union, said there had been significant job growth in the financial, insurance and real-estate services sectors.
Now the question is how long a lagging economic indicator like housing can keep looking shiny and bright in a dim economy, and are there are any lasting benefits of a strong housing market in a time of job losses? One short term upside is that people who recently lost jobs and needed to sell have had a good market to sell into, but how much longer will we be able to sustain the recent sales blitz?
