British Columbia job growth remains steady as the province gained 3,600 new jobs last month and the unemployment rate dropped to 6.6 per cent. B.C. gained 2,400 full-time positions and added 1,100 part-time jobs.

 B.C. ranks second in terms of job gains since June 2011 when compared to other provinces. B.C. has added 53,000 jobs since June 2011, behind only Alberta, which has added 55,400 jobs.

Manufacturing continues to experience steady growth with last month showing strong gains of 10,600 jobs. Other areas of job growth include health care and social assistance (+6,200), business, building and other support services (+4,600), and educational services (+4,100).

B.C.’s unemployment rate of 6.6 per cent is below the national average (7.2 per cent) and is lower than where it was last year, which was 7.2 per cent. As youth employment increased, the unemployment rate for the 15-24 age category declined by 2.3 percentage points from May.