The provincial government says the job climate in B.C. is strong and steady, with unemployment dropping over the course of 2012.
According to Statistics Canada, employment was up in the Vancouver Island/coastal region by 12,000 jobs. The unemployment rate dropped from 6.3 per cent in December, 2011 to 5.8 per cent last December.
In the Comox Valley, retail is the major employer, along with customer service jobs, seasonal work hospitality and tourism, says Brooke Thoburn, labour market information analyst at Creative Employment in Courtenay.
Creative Employment runs WorkBC out of the Job Shop building at Fourth Street, which has plenty of programs for visitors.
"We certainly have lots of people coming through the doors at WorkBC," Thoburn said. "We see a steady stream of traffic through our resource centre. We're always very busy."
Thoburn is also the job developer with the Vintage Advantage program for those on the far side of 50 looking to return to the workforce. It is a federal and provincially funded program.
"We've had great success with that," she said. "There is work out there in the Valley. I think that employment's up in the Valley, just from what I can see through WorkBC."
reporter@comoxvalleyrecord.com