Contents
- British Columbia service industry employment statistics: overall services-producing employment
- British Columbia service industry employment statistics: trade and transportation
- British Columbia service industry employment statistics: finance and professional services
- British Columbia service industry employment statistics: education and health
- British Columbia service industry employment statistics: hospitality, culture and other services
- Sources
British Columbia service industry employment statistics: overall services-producing employment
British Columbia’s services-producing sector employed 2,423.8 thousand people in October 2026. The estimate is seasonally adjusted and expressed in thousands of employed people. It is a broad sector total, bringing together the service industries in the Labour Force Survey classification. The October figure is a snapshot for the survey’s reference week of October 11 to 17, 2026; it should not be read as an annual average or as a count of jobs created during the month. Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, October 2026, Table 6
The total was 8.2 thousand higher than in October 2025. On the shorter comparison, services-producing employment rose by 9.0 thousand from September to October 2026. Those are absolute changes in thousands, not percentage changes. The two comparisons cover different spans, so they describe distinct views of movement: one compares the same month across years, while the other compares adjacent months. Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, October 2026, Table 6
| Services-producing sector, British Columbia | October 2026 employment (thousands) | Change, October 2025 to October 2026 (thousands) | Change, September to October 2026 (thousands) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total services-producing sector | 2,423.8 | 8.2 | 9.0 |
The headline total provides scale, but it does not imply that every service industry moved in the same direction. The individual industry estimates show gains and declines in both the year-over-year and monthly comparisons. Statistics Canada also cautions that component categories may not always add to the total because of rounding. Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, October 2026, Table 6
British Columbia service industry employment statistics: trade and transportation
Wholesale and retail trade employed 413.2 thousand people in British Columbia in October 2026. Its employment level was 21.9 thousand lower than in October 2025, while the September-to-October change was an increase of 6.4 thousand. These figures point in different directions because they compare different periods: the latest monthly movement was upward even as the level remained below its year-earlier comparison. Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, October 2026, Table 6
Transportation and warehousing employed 156.8 thousand people in October 2026. Compared with October 2025, employment was up by 2.5 thousand. From September to October 2026, however, it fell by 2.7 thousand. The monthly decrease therefore sits alongside a positive year-over-year change; neither comparison alone describes the entire path between those endpoints. Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, October 2026, Table 6
| Trade and transportation industry | October 2026 employment (thousands) | Change, October 2025 to October 2026 (thousands) | Change, September to October 2026 (thousands) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale and retail trade | 413.2 | -21.9 | 6.4 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 156.8 | 2.5 | -2.7 |
The table keeps the two categories separate, as the source does. Wholesale and retail trade and transportation and warehousing are not interchangeable measures, and their changes should not be combined into a new total. The source reports each figure in thousands of employed people and seasonally adjusts the estimates. Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, October 2026, Table 6
British Columbia service industry employment statistics: finance and professional services
Finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing employed 178.1 thousand people in British Columbia in October 2026. The category’s employment was 15.8 thousand lower than in October 2025. Between September and October 2026, it decreased by 0.2 thousand. Both comparisons are declines, though the year-over-year measure covers a full year and the monthly measure covers one month. Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, October 2026, Table 6
Professional, scientific and technical services employed 302.0 thousand people. That level was 7.3 thousand below October 2025 and 3.9 thousand below September 2026. The source’s category label covers a range of professional and technical service activities; the supplied figures do not split the category into occupations or subindustries. Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, October 2026, Table 6
| Finance and professional services industry | October 2026 employment (thousands) | Change, October 2025 to October 2026 (thousands) | Change, September to October 2026 (thousands) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing | 178.1 | -15.8 | -0.2 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 302.0 | -7.3 | -3.9 |
Across these two measured categories, both year-over-year changes and both monthly changes are negative. This is a description of the selected industry estimates, not an explanation of why employment changed. The table does not establish causes, and the employment counts alone do not describe wages, hours worked, vacancies, or the number of businesses. Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, October 2026, Table 6
British Columbia service industry employment statistics: education and health
Educational services employed 226.9 thousand people in October 2026. The estimate was 2.4 thousand below its October 2025 level, but 1.8 thousand above September 2026. These figures describe an annual decline alongside a one-month increase; they do not indicate whether the monthly change continued beyond October. Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, October 2026, Table 6
Health care and social assistance employed 439.8 thousand people, the largest October level among the education and health categories listed here. Employment in this category increased by 31.4 thousand from October 2025 to October 2026 and by 0.2 thousand from September to October 2026. The same category had a positive change in both comparisons, with the year-over-year change covering a much longer interval. Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, October 2026, Table 6
Public administration employed 154.2 thousand people in October 2026. Its employment level was 3.9 thousand lower than in October 2025. No September-to-October change is included for this category in the checked figures here, so the year-over-year observation is the appropriate comparison to report. Public administration is presented as its own industry in Table 6, alongside educational services and health care and social assistance. Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, October 2026, Table 6
| Industry | October 2026 employment (thousands) | Change, October 2025 to October 2026 (thousands) | Change, September to October 2026 (thousands) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Educational services | 226.9 | -2.4 | 1.8 |
| Health care and social assistance | 439.8 | 31.4 | 0.2 |
| Public administration | 154.2 | -3.9 | — |
The dash indicates that a monthly change is not included in the figures reported for public administration here; it does not represent zero. The contrast between categories is descriptive: health care and social assistance had positive measured changes over both periods, while educational services and public administration had negative year-over-year changes. The observations do not identify the specific employers, occupations, or policy factors behind those movements. Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, October 2026, Table 6
British Columbia service industry employment statistics: hospitality, culture and other services
Accommodation and food services employed 188.8 thousand people in October 2026. The category was 3.9 thousand below its October 2025 level, while it rose by 3.2 thousand from September to October 2026. As with trade, those observations can coexist: the month-to-month change captures a different interval from the year-over-year comparison. Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, October 2026, Table 6
Information, culture and recreation employed 154.1 thousand people in October 2026. Its year-over-year change was an increase of 23.1 thousand. No monthly change is stated here for this category, so the observation supports a comparison with October 2025 but not a September-to-October description. Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, October 2026, Table 6
Other services, except public administration, employed 116.6 thousand people. Employment was 4.9 thousand higher than in October 2025 and 1.0 thousand lower than in September 2026. Business, building and other support services employed 93.5 thousand people, an increase of 1.6 thousand compared with October 2025. No monthly change is included for business, building and other support services in the reported observations. Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, October 2026, Table 6
| Hospitality, culture and other services industry | October 2026 employment (thousands) | Change, October 2025 to October 2026 (thousands) | Change, September to October 2026 (thousands) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation and food services | 188.8 | -3.9 | 3.2 |
| Information, culture and recreation | 154.1 | 23.1 | — |
| Other services, except public administration | 116.6 | 4.9 | -1.0 |
| Business, building and other support services | 93.5 | 1.6 | — |
The two blank monthly comparisons are not zero values; they are simply not reported among the figures included here. In this set of categories, the year-over-year directions vary: accommodation and food services was lower, while information, culture and recreation, other services, and business, building and other support services were higher than in October 2025. For a consistent reading, each change should remain attached to its named industry, period, and unit. Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, October 2026, Table 6