April delivered shot in the arm to B.C.’s film and TV sector after strikes in Hollywood left the industry on life support much of last fall.
The province added 23,400 jobs to the economy last month, with the entertainment sector leading the way, according to Statistics Canada data released Friday.
While there were notable losses in wholesale and retail trade (-8,500 jobs) and manufacturing (-5,600 jobs), those declines were mitigated by significant additions in StatCan’s information, culture and recreation category, which is associated with the film and TV sector.
Overall, the gains in film and TV perfectly mirrored gains across the province (23,400 jobs). Professional, scientific and technical services also saw major additions in April (+5,900 jobs).
Unemployment on the West Coast dropped 0.5 percentage points to five per cent, compared with 6.1 per cent nationally (no change from a month earlier).
Canada as a whole added 90,000 jobs in April. Only Ontario outperformed B.C., adding 25,000 jobs to its own economy.
More to come …
