March was a rough month for the Abbotsford-Mission census metropolitan area, with Statistics Canada reporting that 700 jobs were lost last month.
The unemployment rate also increased from 5.5 per cent in February to 6.1 per cent in March.
The number of unemployed people in the region is up 23.7 per cent from the same time period in 2024 and up 12.3 per cent from February. The statistics show that in March there were about 7,300 unemployed people living in Abbotsford-Mission.
New data from the Labour Force Survey for the month of March 2025 are now available:
— Statistics Canada (@StatCan_eng) April 4, 2025
⬇️ Employment fell by 33,000 (-0.2%)
⬆️ Unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 6.7%.
For more info: https://t.co/Ft1k2OnWqF pic.twitter.com/9VRodGmIAd
A Canadian Chamber of Commerce analysis from earlier this year ranked Abbotsford-Mission as the region most affected in British Columbia by American tariffs. Abbotsford is directly on the border and some of the top local employers include manufacturing, steel and aluminum fabricators and agriculture – all industries that have been impacted by tariffs.
While it was a challenging month for Abbotsford-Mission, the region's neighbours to the east in Chilliwack had relatively good numbers across the board.
Chilliwack added 1,100 jobs in March and the unemployment rate dipped from 7 per cent to 6.6 per cent. The total number of those unemployed in Chilliwack was 4,200 in March, down from 4,400 in February.
The big regional loser in the province was Kelowna, as they lost approximately 5,300 jobs in March. The unemployment rate for that city went from 5.3 per cent in February to 5.8 per cent in March.
Statistics Canada stated that B.C.'s employment rate rose by 0.2 per cent last month and jobs gained were at 5,700 for March in B.C. Canada-wide numbers saw the unemployment rate hit 6.7 per cent in March, up from 6.6 per cent in February. That's a decrease of 33,000 jobs across the country.
For more information on labour numbers across the country, visit www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/250404/t007a-eng.htm.
