Unemployment in the Kootenays dipped below four per cent last month,
Statistics Canada says 76,900 people were working in the region while 3,100 were looking for work, a rate of 3.9 per cent.
In November 2021, there were 76,500 working and 4,300 job-hunting, which means another 400 people are now employed and 1,200 fewer are searching. In the same period the population increased from 139,600 to 141,100.
The local rate is lower than the provincial figure of four per cent and the national rate of 5.4 per cent. The latter was a modest decline, representing another 10,000 jobs across the country.
Stats Can says employment was up among women ages of 25 to 54, but declined among young men aged 15 to 24. It was little changed among the other main demographic groups.
The agency says employment rose in finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing, manufacturing, information, culture, and recreation. But it fell in construction and wholesale and retail trade.