B.C.’s labour market got some much-needed relief leading into the summer as the province added 25,200 jobs to the economy in May.

Unemployment remained static between April and May at 6.8 per cent as more people entered the labour force looking for work, according to Statistics Canada data released Friday.

The country as a whole added 87,800 jobs, while national unemployment fell 0.3 percentage points to 6.6 per cent.

The West Coast had shed 40,200 jobs since the start of 2026. Prior to May, the only other monthly gains came in January when the province added 3,500 jobs. Losses followed every month since.

Transportation/warehousing (+10,200 jobs) and accommodation/food services (+5,700 jobs) led the way in gains in B.C. Losses were most notable in building/support services (-4,600) and finance/insurance/real estate/rental and leasing (-3,600 jobs).

Full-time employment (+33,600 jobs) proved fruitful for the province, as well.

“No bones about it, this is a solid report,” TD senior economist Andrew Hencic said, referring to the national data. “However, this basically brings employment back to where it was in January, with an unemployment rate 0.1 percentage points higher.”

Both he and BMO chief economist Douglas Porter said they expect the Bank of Canada to stand pat next week when it makes its interest rate announcement.

“Today’s strength has simply brought us back to where we stood earlier in the year, and further tightening in the labour market will need to be seen (alongside an acceleration in core inflation) to bring the Bank of Canada off the sidelines,” CIBC senior economist Andrew Grantham said in a note.

RBC assistant chief economist Nathan Janzen said in a note he’s cautiously optimistic about the economy moving forward.

But had some caveats, noting trade uncertainty with the U.S. and higher energy prices cutting into household spending are still cause for concern.

[email protected]