Diversity of Jobs

Employment in the City of Vancouver has been growing steadily over the last 30 to 40 years but there have been dramatic changes in the types of jobs. The city has almost 60% of the population in the labour force, one of the highest ‘participation rates’ in Canada. Traditional heavy industries have declined while new jobs in personal and business services have expanded sharply. Downtown Vancouver continues to be the most important regional location for business and major institutions.

Jobs in the City of Vancouver

Source: Statistics Canada, Census Data

The largest and fastest growing sector in the city is Business Services. This sector includes job types such as computer services, law, accounting, management consulting, advertising, architecture, and engineering. The number of these jobs has more than doubled in the last 20 years. Accommodation & Food, and the Education, Heath & Social Services sectors have also experienced consistent growth over the past 20 years.

As a whole, city jobs are diverse and represented across all Statistics Canada industry sectors.

A Diversity of Jobs across all Sectors

Source: Statistics Canada, 2006

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Distribution of Jobs

City jobs are found in a variety of locations, each with unique roles in providing jobs. Downtown Vancouver has the highest concentration of jobs in the city and region, due in large part to the cluster of large office buildings and hotels in the Central Business District. Downtown Vancouver as a whole accounts for 43% of the city’s jobs but only accounts for 5% of the city’s land area.

The South of False Creek area (Central Broadway and inner city industrial areas) also have higher concentrations of jobs resulting from a large office precinct centered on West Broadway and the Vancouver General Hospital. There are also significant retail properties and two industrial zoned areas.

Other areas with concentrations of employment include the Port of Vancouver, the False Creek Flats, the outer industrial areas (Grandview-Boundary and South Vancouver) and a mix of retail and office jobs along the city’s commercial arterials.

A Diversity of Employment Zones

Source: City of Vancouver photographs

The map below shows that the highest density of jobs is in Downtown Vancouver followed by the Central Broadway area. The city’s industrial areas and commercial arterials are distinct areas with concentrations of jobs.

City of Vancouver’s Employment Density in 2006

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