Every five years the Canadian census provides key information about our region that provides insights into how our local economy ticks.
Unfortunately, the most recent census was compromised as it was done in 2021, when the entire world was in the midst of the pandemic. Nonetheless, the data available online can help us understand the local key economic drivers and thus provides some of the information needed to make improvements.
Employment can be divided into three basic types: jobs that produce products sold outside the region; jobs based on money that re-circulates within a region; and jobs based on government funds. The first type is of course the most important, as every community requires an influx of money to support all the other jobs.
Over time, the key economic drivers have changed significantly in the Shuswap, beginning with agriculture that supported the original settlers, to the forest industry that was the dominant economic driver up until approximately 40 years ago, to today when it is the accumulated wealth from past decades that is now driving the local economy.
The Shuswap, like other Southern Interior communities, is home to an increasing number of retirees, whose incomes from pensions and investments are by far the largest economic driver. The Census data provides the details, particularly when compared with the provincial data. A key statistic is age, given the median age for the province is 42.8, while the median age in the Shuswap is approximately 55. This metric does vary somewhat within our region, with the youngest region being Area D (Falkland, Salmon River and Deep Creek) where the median age is 48, while the oldest is Area F (North Shuswap) where it is 61 and in Salmon Arm it is 51.2.
There are other key indicators that point to the importance of retirement income to our local economy, such as the percentage of adults with non-employment income. Provincially, that metric is 31.3 percent, whereas the approximate average in the Shuswap is 42.2 percent. This metric varies from a high of 48.6 percent in Chase to a low of 34.8 percent in Area D. In Salmon Arm it is 38.4 percent.
Another key metric is actual labour force participation, which provincially is 63.3 percent, while in the Shuswap the approximate average is 50.5 percent and in Salmon Arm it is 56.1 percent.
The census also provides the percentage of the population that work in each labour sector. Using the statistics for the two largest communities in the Shuswap gives the best idea of how many residents work in economic-driver sectors. In Salmon Arm, over 20 percent either work in agriculture, forestry, mining, oil and gas, or manufacturing, which accounts for over 12 percent. Plus, there are some transportation, professional, management and administrative jobs that generate outside income. All the largest labour sectors; retail, healthcare and social assistance, education and construction, are either government funded or primarily recirculate money.
In the South Shuswap, over 16 percent work in agriculture, forestry, mining, oil and gas or manufacturing, which accounts for over seven percent. Construction, retail, healthcare and social assistance are the three top labour sectors. Since, in many ways, the South Shuswap is a satellite community for Salmon Arm, as many residents work and/or shop there, the employment numbers do not provide a clear picture of its local economy.
Most of the efforts to support and improve the local economy focuses on attracting businesses and young families to our region, while there is little effort made to attract more retirees to move here from larger centres. Certainly, working families provide a huge boost to the economy, given their needs are far greater than seniors, and fortunately their numbers have been increasing. Also, many seniors head south for the winter along with the money they would otherwise spend in the community.
However, given that our communities are largely thriving thanks in many ways to the large share of the local economy funded by seniors, a good way to build on this success would be to promote the Shuswap among those who are heading into retirement. The real estate statistics for the Interior do show that this is already a trend as 20 percent of BC Interior home sales are to empty-nesters and retirees, while 36 percent are moving into the Interior from outside each community, with 16 percent coming from the Lower Mainland.
Provincially, the median household income is $85,000, while in the Shuswap it varies from high of $74,500 in Salmon Arm and the South Shuswap, to the low of $57,600 in Area D. The census data also shows how the population is younger in the farming communities (Falkland, Salmon Valley and Deep Creek).
Low-income prevalence is another key census metric, and it is highest in the smallest communities, where the unemployment rate is also higher. The most up-to-date data shows that the population has increased significantly since the 2021 Census, so it will be most interesting to see the results of the next census scheduled for 2026.
