B.C. public jobs far outpace private growth

August 28, 2025

B.C.’s job market has expanded since the pandemic, but growth is uneven across sectors.

Job growth has been heavily skewed toward the public sector, leaving the private sector largely stagnant, according to the Business Council of British Columbia (BCBC)’s report released on Monday titled Where B.C. employment has (and hasn’t) grown since 2019.

From 2019 to the first half of 2025, four of the five fastest growing industries in B.C. were in the public sector, including public administration (44 per cent), public health care and social assistance (40 per cent), other public sectors (40 per cent) and public educational services (39 per cent).

The only private sector that outpaced the public ones was the professional, scientific and technical services, which grew by more than half (51 per cent) during the period, followed by construction (30 per cent).

Meanwhile, some private industries have contracted. Agriculture led the decline, with employment down 27 per cent. Other sectors posting job losses included business, building and other support services (-15 per cent), utilities (-11 per cent), accommodation and food services (-7 per cent), forestry, fishing and resources (-3 per cent), and information, culture and recreation (-2 per cent).

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