Vancouver created 82,900 jobs last year (REPORT)

When it came to job creation, Vancouver led the country last year. That is, according to the Conference Board of Canada (CBOC).

The CBOC found Vancouver created one third of Canada’s 277,000 new jobs over 2015-16, and is expected to create another 43,000 over the next two years.

“Vancouver’s knowledge economy, between post-secondary institutions, startups and clusters, produce strong synergies for economic innovation and growth,” said Alan Arcand, associate director for municipal studies at the CBOC.

“Vancouver has been leading the charge for growth among Canadian cities, and will continue to be one of the best performing going forward, thanks to key industries like tech, tourism and film.”

Driven by the city’s innovation economy in technology, digital entertainment, film, tourism and finance, Vancouver’s position as an international gateway has been instrumental in driving economic growth during challenging and uncertain global economic conditions, the CBOC said in its report.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson described the city’s economy as booming.

“Vancouver’s economy… continues to be the fastest growing, most resilient, most diverse and greenest economy in Canada,” said Robertson. “Our thriving innovation ecosystem – in tech, creative and green sectors – is the backbone in delivering tens of thousands of new jobs per year in our growing region.”

Other findings from the report include:

• Vancouver is home to more than 75,000 tech jobs, expected to grow to 90,000 by 2019
• Vancouver’s finance sector has moved up in the rankings of the Global Financial Centres Index from 27th place in 2007 to 20th place in 2016
• Vancouver is the third largest film & TV production centre in the Americas
• More than 10 million overnight visitors came to Greater Vancouver last year
• Vancouver is the world’s number one VFX and Animation cluster (according to Variety Magazine)

The Conference Board’s Economic Outlook forecasts Vancouver’s housing market to slow somewhat, but strength in other areas will bolster the region’s growth and keep Vancouver within the top performing economies of major Canadian cities.