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Top Kootenay Employers

Kootenay Business presents its annual list of Top 120 Kootenay employers based on employment numbers

How does our Kootenay economy compare to the provincial economy? One metric we can use to compare the two is the percentage of manufacturing versus service jobs.

The manufacturing sector (or goods sector) includes not only companies that produce tangible goods but also includes forestry, mining, utilities and construction businesses.

The other part of an economy is the service sector, made up of companies that primarily earn revenue through providing intangible products and services. This sector includes companies involved in retail, transport, food services, medical, educational and hospitality ventures.

According to Statistics Canada, British Columbia’s employment by major industry is 80 per cent in the service sector and 20 per cent in the goods sector (based on data from December 2017).

How does our Kootenay economy compare? Based on our latest Top 120 list of Kootenay employers, our economy comprises 65 per cent service-producing jobs and 35 per cent goods jobs. That’s a significant difference: 20 versus 35 per cent in the goods sector. Our rural resource-based economy is certainly an important factor in that difference.

Focusing on just the top 25 employers, our goods sector is led by mining (Teck), forestry (Canfor, Zellstoff Celgar, Louisiana-Pacific, Interfor, CanWel and Downie Timber) and utility (FortisBC) companies. Farther down the list, other Kootenay companies produce electronics, insulation, coffee, beer, signs and timber constructions, among other goods.

In terms of our services sector in the Kootenays, two of the top employers are in the health field: Interior Health Authority and Golden Life. The B.C. provincial government is third on our list of biggest employers. The education sector provides many of our region’s jobs, and many diverse jobs are in the hospitality industry. Farther down the list, our retail malls and food stores provide much service employment.

A typical trend in developed countries’ economies is an increase in the service sector and a concomitant decrease in the goods sector. Will this trend prevail in the Kootenays? How will this shape our region over time? Interesting questions to ponder.
 

Think your business should be on our list? Email Kootenaybiz and let us know how many employees your business has.