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Educational Attainment

Educational attainment reflects the productivity of the labour force and its potential for generating future wealth. The share of the CDR’s labour force, age 25 to 54, with a post-secondary certificate/diploma or higher declined slightly from its peak of 56.1% in 2008, to 55.5% in 2009. At 7.6 percentage points below the provincial average, the Cariboo ranks fifth among the Development Regions in educational attainment. The Mainland/Southwest ranked first (65%), and the Vancouver Island/Coast and Thompson-Okanagan were second and third (61.9% and 61% respectively). Northwest BC was in last place with an attainment rate of 50.3%.

Table 1-6: Percent of Labour Force, Age 25 to 54, With a Post-Secondary Certificate/ Diploma or Higher, Cariboo Development Region, 2004 to 2009

Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Custom Table

In 2009, much of the decline in educational attainment occurred at the post-secondary certificate or diploma level, where the percentage of the labour force dropped by 6.1 ppt. Much of job loss in the Cariboo last year was seen in industries that often require a certificate or diploma, such as manufacturing, health care, and public administration.

Dependency on the Social Safety Net

There is generally a negative relationship between social safety net dependence and employment growth. Dependency rates continued to rise in the Cariboo as more families became reliant upon government assistance. In 2009, this indicator rose 2.8 ppt, to 8.1%. The provincial rate of dependency rose from 2 ppt to 4.4%. As in previous years, social safety net dependency was lower in the Cariboo Regional District (7.8%) than in the Fraser-Fort George (8.3%), which had some of the highest rates in the province.

Job losses in the CDR were extensive in 2009 and spread across a number of industries—trade, manufacturing, business, building and other support services, health care and social assistance, and public administration. Many of the 3,100 individuals who dropped out of the labour force,[25] and the 4,500 individuals who remained unemployed were forced to become reliant on government assistance.

Table 1-7: Basic Income Assistance Recipients & EI Beneficiaries as a Percent of the Population, Age 19 to 64, Cariboo Development Region, 2007 to 2009[26, 27]

Source: BC Stats

The Cariboo ranked seventh among the Development Regions, just ahead of last place North Coast (8.7%). The Mainland Southwest continued to have the lowest rate of social safety net dependency in BC (3.8%), while the second-lowest rate (4.4%) was the Vancouver Island/Coast.

Real Income

Real pre-tax income per taxfiler can be used to compare purchasing power between the Development Regions.[28] Although the most recent regional income data is only available to 2008, by looking at economic conditions last year, we can also surmise about how real income has subsequently changed.

Between 2004 and 2008, real pre-tax income per taxfiler in the CDR rose by 8.7%, reflecting three years of moderate gains and drop of 1.9% in 2008. The four-year growth rate was considerably lower than the BC average (12.6%) and was, in fact, the lowest of the Development Regions.

Table1-8: Real Pre-Tax Income per Taxfiler (2002$), Cariboo Development Region, 2004 to 2008

Source: BC Stats, British Columbia Neighbourhood Income Demographics

By the end of 2008, the contraction of US housing starts and turbulence in world financial markets decimated activity in both the forest and mining industries. Between 2007 and 2008, 4,200 manufacturing jobs were lost and dependency on the social safety net grew. Average real pre-tax income per taxfiler dropped to $34,288 ($2002). Within the CDR, average income was as follows: Cariboo Regional District,$30,830; and Fraser-Fort George Regional District, $36,717.

All of BC’s Development Regions, with the exception of the Kootenay (0.6% gain) and the Northcoast (0.3% gain), saw a deterioration in real pre-tax income between 2007 and 2008. The CDR ranked fifth with a loss of 1.9%. The hardest hit regions were the Nechako, the Mainland/Southwest, and the Thompson-Okanagan which saw income declines of 3.3%, 2.4%, and 2.1% respectively.

While the fourth quarter of 2008 marked the start of the economic downturn, its full impact was felt in 2009. Job losses, rising unemployment, and lower investment income in the CDR last year will undoubtedly be reflected in future income data.

Footnotes

26. Rates are as of September for each year. Data unavailable for years prior to 2007. These figures include those on Temporary Assistance, but exclude those on Continuous Assistance (Disabled or with persistent multiple barriers to employment), Children in the Home of a Relative, and OAS/Seniors and aboriginal people living on reserve.
27. As of September 2009, BC Stats has revised these statistics to include only a subset of those receiving Employment Insurance to better align with Statistics Canada’s Employment Insurance Releases. These figures now include those receiving regular benefits, fishing benefits, work sharing, employment benefits, and support measures and excludes those receiving sickness benefits, maternity benefits, and parental benefits.
28. Pre-tax income is deflated by the Consumer Price Index, with a base year of 2002. In previous editions, we have used real income per capita an indicator; however, the recent release of census population figures has shown that, in some cases, population estimates made by statistical agencies between census years diverge significantly from census counts. We have therefore used the number of taxfilers as the denominator, as it is more accurate. Data source: BC Stats, British Columbia Neighbourhood Income Demographics. See Glossary at the end of this report for definitions of pre-tax income and taxfiler.