{
  "id": "unemployment-rate",
  "category": "Work and income",
  "title": "Unemployment rate in Greater Victoria",
  "geography": "Victoria census metropolitan area (Greater Victoria)",
  "scope": "region",
  "levels": [
    "Market and economy-wide factors",
    "Bank of Canada (interest rates)",
    "Federal and provincial economic policy"
  ],
  "plain_question": "Of the people who are working or looking for work, what share are looking and cannot find a job?",
  "value": 4.8,
  "display_value": "4.8%",
  "unit": "% of the labour force (3-month average, seasonally adjusted)",
  "period": "3 months to October 2026",
  "period_start": "2025-10-01",
  "period_end": "2026-10-01",
  "comparison": {
    "previous_period": "October 2025",
    "previous_value": 4.2,
    "change_percent": 0.6,
    "change_unit": "percentage points"
  },
  "trend": "roughly_flat",
  "significance": {
    "significant": false,
    "margin": 1.6,
    "text": "Statistics Canada's standard error of the year-over-year change is 0.8 points, so the 95% margin is about 1.6 points; the +0.6-point change is smaller than that."
  },
  "trend_basis": "4.8% in the three months to October 2026 compared with 4.2% a year earlier (+0.6 percentage points; 95% survey margin about 1.6 points).",
  "direction_good": "down",
  "right_direction": "A lower number means a smaller share of people who want a job are without one.",
  "caveats": [
    "This comes from the Labour Force Survey, a sample survey, so it is an estimate. For the latest month, the standard error of the year-over-year change is about 0.8 percentage points, so small changes may just be sampling noise.",
    "City-level estimates are noisier than national ones, which is why Statistics Canada publishes a three-month moving average.",
    "The area is the Victoria census metropolitan area, which is larger than the City of Victoria.",
    "The unemployment rate does not show job quality, wages, or people who have stopped looking for work.",
    "The B.C. and Canada lines are the same measure from the same Statistics Canada table. They are comparisons, not goals: no government has set an unemployment target for Greater Victoria.",
    "Longer views (10 years and All) show Statistics Canada's yearly average for each calendar year (table 14-10-0461-01). Both tables start in 2011, when Statistics Canada's current census metropolitan area boundaries begin, so earlier years are not shown. The 5-year view shows each month."
  ],
  "charts": [
    {
      "title": "Unemployment rate, three-month average",
      "fmt": "dec1",
      "unit": "%",
      "lines": [
        {
          "name": "Greater Victoria",
          "area": "cma",
          "series": [
            {
              "period": "2021-10",
              "value": 4.3
            },
            {
              "period": "2021-11",
              "value": 4.2
            },
            {
              "period": "2021-12",
              "value": 4.3
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-01",
              "value": 4.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-02",
              "value": 3.8
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-03",
              "value": 3.7
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-04",
              "value": 3.7
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-05",
              "value": 3.5
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-06",
              "value": 3.6
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-07",
              "value": 4.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-08",
              "value": 4.5
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-09",
              "value": 4.5
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-10",
              "value": 4.1
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-11",
              "value": 3.5
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-12",
              "value": 3.3
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-01",
              "value": 3.1
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-02",
              "value": 3.2
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-03",
              "value": 3.2
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-04",
              "value": 3.3
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-05",
              "value": 3.4
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-06",
              "value": 3.4
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-07",
              "value": 3.5
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-08",
              "value": 3.5
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-09",
              "value": 3.8
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-10",
              "value": 3.8
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-11",
              "value": 4.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-12",
              "value": 4.1
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-01",
              "value": 4.4
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-02",
              "value": 4.4
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-03",
              "value": 4.8
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-04",
              "value": 4.7
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-05",
              "value": 4.8
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-06",
              "value": 3.8
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-07",
              "value": 3.6
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-08",
              "value": 3.2
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-09",
              "value": 3.5
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-10",
              "value": 3.7
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-11",
              "value": 3.9
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-12",
              "value": 3.7
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-01",
              "value": 3.6
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-02",
              "value": 3.6
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-03",
              "value": 3.7
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-04",
              "value": 3.7
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-05",
              "value": 3.8
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-06",
              "value": 4.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-07",
              "value": 4.9
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-08",
              "value": 5.1
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-09",
              "value": 4.7
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-10",
              "value": 4.2
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-11",
              "value": 4.1
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-12",
              "value": 4.3
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-01",
              "value": 4.4
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-02",
              "value": 4.5
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-03",
              "value": 4.6
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-04",
              "value": 4.3
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-05",
              "value": 4.1
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-06",
              "value": 4.4
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-07",
              "value": 5.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-08",
              "value": 5.3
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-09",
              "value": 5.3
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-10",
              "value": 4.8
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "name": "B.C.",
          "area": "bc",
          "series": [
            {
              "period": "2021-10",
              "value": 6.1
            },
            {
              "period": "2021-11",
              "value": 5.8
            },
            {
              "period": "2021-12",
              "value": 5.5
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-01",
              "value": 5.3
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-02",
              "value": 5.1
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-03",
              "value": 5.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-04",
              "value": 4.9
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-05",
              "value": 4.8
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-06",
              "value": 4.7
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-07",
              "value": 4.6
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-08",
              "value": 4.6
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-09",
              "value": 4.5
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-10",
              "value": 4.5
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-11",
              "value": 4.5
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-12",
              "value": 4.4
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-01",
              "value": 4.4
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-02",
              "value": 4.7
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-03",
              "value": 4.8
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-04",
              "value": 5.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-05",
              "value": 4.9
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-06",
              "value": 5.2
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-07",
              "value": 5.3
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-08",
              "value": 5.4
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-09",
              "value": 5.4
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-10",
              "value": 5.3
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-11",
              "value": 5.4
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-12",
              "value": 5.4
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-01",
              "value": 5.4
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-02",
              "value": 5.3
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-03",
              "value": 5.3
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-04",
              "value": 5.3
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-05",
              "value": 5.4
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-06",
              "value": 5.3
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-07",
              "value": 5.5
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-08",
              "value": 5.6
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-09",
              "value": 5.8
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-10",
              "value": 5.8
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-11",
              "value": 5.8
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-12",
              "value": 5.9
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-01",
              "value": 5.9
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-02",
              "value": 6.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-03",
              "value": 6.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-04",
              "value": 6.1
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-05",
              "value": 6.2
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-06",
              "value": 6.1
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-07",
              "value": 6.1
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-08",
              "value": 6.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-09",
              "value": 6.2
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-10",
              "value": 6.4
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-11",
              "value": 6.5
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-12",
              "value": 6.5
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-01",
              "value": 6.3
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-02",
              "value": 6.2
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-03",
              "value": 6.3
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-04",
              "value": 6.5
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-05",
              "value": 6.7
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-06",
              "value": 6.7
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-07",
              "value": 6.5
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-08",
              "value": 6.4
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-09",
              "value": 6.4
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-10",
              "value": 6.4
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "name": "Canada",
          "area": "canada",
          "series": [
            {
              "period": "2021-10",
              "value": 6.9
            },
            {
              "period": "2021-11",
              "value": 6.5
            },
            {
              "period": "2021-12",
              "value": 6.2
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-01",
              "value": 6.2
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-02",
              "value": 5.9
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-03",
              "value": 5.8
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-04",
              "value": 5.4
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-05",
              "value": 5.3
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-06",
              "value": 5.2
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-07",
              "value": 5.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-08",
              "value": 5.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-09",
              "value": 5.1
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-10",
              "value": 5.1
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-11",
              "value": 5.1
            },
            {
              "period": "2022-12",
              "value": 5.1
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-01",
              "value": 5.1
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-02",
              "value": 5.1
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-03",
              "value": 5.1
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-04",
              "value": 5.1
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-05",
              "value": 5.1
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-06",
              "value": 5.2
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-07",
              "value": 5.3
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-08",
              "value": 5.4
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-09",
              "value": 5.4
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-10",
              "value": 5.5
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-11",
              "value": 5.6
            },
            {
              "period": "2023-12",
              "value": 5.7
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-01",
              "value": 5.8
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-02",
              "value": 5.8
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-03",
              "value": 5.9
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-04",
              "value": 6.1
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-05",
              "value": 6.2
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-06",
              "value": 6.3
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-07",
              "value": 6.4
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-08",
              "value": 6.5
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-09",
              "value": 6.5
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-10",
              "value": 6.5
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-11",
              "value": 6.7
            },
            {
              "period": "2024-12",
              "value": 6.7
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-01",
              "value": 6.8
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-02",
              "value": 6.7
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-03",
              "value": 6.7
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-04",
              "value": 6.8
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-05",
              "value": 6.9
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-06",
              "value": 6.9
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-07",
              "value": 6.9
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-08",
              "value": 6.9
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-09",
              "value": 7.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-10",
              "value": 7.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-11",
              "value": 6.8
            },
            {
              "period": "2025-12",
              "value": 6.7
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-01",
              "value": 6.6
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-02",
              "value": 6.7
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-03",
              "value": 6.6
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-04",
              "value": 6.8
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-05",
              "value": 6.7
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-06",
              "value": 6.7
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-07",
              "value": 6.5
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-08",
              "value": 6.5
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-09",
              "value": 6.5
            },
            {
              "period": "2026-10",
              "value": 6.5
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "long": {
        "lines": [
          {
            "name": "Greater Victoria (yearly average)",
            "area": "cma",
            "series": [
              {
                "period": "2011",
                "value": 6.1
              },
              {
                "period": "2012",
                "value": 5.6
              },
              {
                "period": "2013",
                "value": 5.2
              },
              {
                "period": "2014",
                "value": 5.6
              },
              {
                "period": "2015",
                "value": 5.9
              },
              {
                "period": "2016",
                "value": 5.2
              },
              {
                "period": "2017",
                "value": 3.9
              },
              {
                "period": "2018",
                "value": 4.1
              },
              {
                "period": "2019",
                "value": 3.6
              },
              {
                "period": "2020",
                "value": 7.8
              },
              {
                "period": "2021",
                "value": 4.9
              },
              {
                "period": "2022",
                "value": 3.8
              },
              {
                "period": "2023",
                "value": 3.7
              },
              {
                "period": "2024",
                "value": 3.9
              },
              {
                "period": "2025",
                "value": 4.1
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "name": "B.C. (yearly average)",
            "area": "bc",
            "series": [
              {
                "period": "2011",
                "value": 7.6
              },
              {
                "period": "2012",
                "value": 6.9
              },
              {
                "period": "2013",
                "value": 6.7
              },
              {
                "period": "2014",
                "value": 6.2
              },
              {
                "period": "2015",
                "value": 6.2
              },
              {
                "period": "2016",
                "value": 6.1
              },
              {
                "period": "2017",
                "value": 5.3
              },
              {
                "period": "2018",
                "value": 4.6
              },
              {
                "period": "2019",
                "value": 4.8
              },
              {
                "period": "2020",
                "value": 9.1
              },
              {
                "period": "2021",
                "value": 6.6
              },
              {
                "period": "2022",
                "value": 4.6
              },
              {
                "period": "2023",
                "value": 5.2
              },
              {
                "period": "2024",
                "value": 5.6
              },
              {
                "period": "2025",
                "value": 6.2
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "name": "Canada (yearly average)",
            "area": "canada",
            "series": [
              {
                "period": "2011",
                "value": 7.7
              },
              {
                "period": "2012",
                "value": 7.4
              },
              {
                "period": "2013",
                "value": 7.2
              },
              {
                "period": "2014",
                "value": 7.0
              },
              {
                "period": "2015",
                "value": 7.0
              },
              {
                "period": "2016",
                "value": 7.1
              },
              {
                "period": "2017",
                "value": 6.4
              },
              {
                "period": "2018",
                "value": 5.8
              },
              {
                "period": "2019",
                "value": 5.7
              },
              {
                "period": "2020",
                "value": 9.7
              },
              {
                "period": "2021",
                "value": 7.5
              },
              {
                "period": "2022",
                "value": 5.3
              },
              {
                "period": "2023",
                "value": 5.4
              },
              {
                "period": "2024",
                "value": 6.3
              },
              {
                "period": "2025",
                "value": 6.8
              }
            ]
          }
        ],
        "title": "Unemployment rate, yearly average",
        "note": "Yearly averages from Statistics Canada tables 14-10-0461-01 (Greater Victoria) and 14-10-0327-01 (B.C. and Canada), not seasonally adjusted, as annual averages need no adjustment, 2011 to 2025. The 5-year view shows each month",
        "monthly_note": "Three-month moving average, each month. The 10-year and All views show yearly averages",
        "source": {
          "name": "Labour force characteristics by census metropolitan area, annual: unemployment rate, Victoria",
          "table": "14-10-0461-01",
          "url": "https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410046101",
          "dataset_url": "https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/f7f8ba11-2fd8-4221-a434-3fdcd16c610a",
          "licence": {
            "name": "Open Government Licence - Canada",
            "url": "https://open.canada.ca/en/open-government-licence-canada"
          },
          "attribution": "Adapted from Statistics Canada, table 14-10-0461-01. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product."
        }
      }
    }
  ],
  "series": [
    {
      "period": "2021-10",
      "value": 4.3
    },
    {
      "period": "2021-11",
      "value": 4.2
    },
    {
      "period": "2021-12",
      "value": 4.3
    },
    {
      "period": "2022-01",
      "value": 4.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2022-02",
      "value": 3.8
    },
    {
      "period": "2022-03",
      "value": 3.7
    },
    {
      "period": "2022-04",
      "value": 3.7
    },
    {
      "period": "2022-05",
      "value": 3.5
    },
    {
      "period": "2022-06",
      "value": 3.6
    },
    {
      "period": "2022-07",
      "value": 4.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2022-08",
      "value": 4.5
    },
    {
      "period": "2022-09",
      "value": 4.5
    },
    {
      "period": "2022-10",
      "value": 4.1
    },
    {
      "period": "2022-11",
      "value": 3.5
    },
    {
      "period": "2022-12",
      "value": 3.3
    },
    {
      "period": "2023-01",
      "value": 3.1
    },
    {
      "period": "2023-02",
      "value": 3.2
    },
    {
      "period": "2023-03",
      "value": 3.2
    },
    {
      "period": "2023-04",
      "value": 3.3
    },
    {
      "period": "2023-05",
      "value": 3.4
    },
    {
      "period": "2023-06",
      "value": 3.4
    },
    {
      "period": "2023-07",
      "value": 3.5
    },
    {
      "period": "2023-08",
      "value": 3.5
    },
    {
      "period": "2023-09",
      "value": 3.8
    },
    {
      "period": "2023-10",
      "value": 3.8
    },
    {
      "period": "2023-11",
      "value": 4.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2023-12",
      "value": 4.1
    },
    {
      "period": "2024-01",
      "value": 4.4
    },
    {
      "period": "2024-02",
      "value": 4.4
    },
    {
      "period": "2024-03",
      "value": 4.8
    },
    {
      "period": "2024-04",
      "value": 4.7
    },
    {
      "period": "2024-05",
      "value": 4.8
    },
    {
      "period": "2024-06",
      "value": 3.8
    },
    {
      "period": "2024-07",
      "value": 3.6
    },
    {
      "period": "2024-08",
      "value": 3.2
    },
    {
      "period": "2024-09",
      "value": 3.5
    },
    {
      "period": "2024-10",
      "value": 3.7
    },
    {
      "period": "2024-11",
      "value": 3.9
    },
    {
      "period": "2024-12",
      "value": 3.7
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-01",
      "value": 3.6
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-02",
      "value": 3.6
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-03",
      "value": 3.7
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-04",
      "value": 3.7
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-05",
      "value": 3.8
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-06",
      "value": 4.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-07",
      "value": 4.9
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-08",
      "value": 5.1
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-09",
      "value": 4.7
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-10",
      "value": 4.2
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-11",
      "value": 4.1
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-12",
      "value": 4.3
    },
    {
      "period": "2026-01",
      "value": 4.4
    },
    {
      "period": "2026-02",
      "value": 4.5
    },
    {
      "period": "2026-03",
      "value": 4.6
    },
    {
      "period": "2026-04",
      "value": 4.3
    },
    {
      "period": "2026-05",
      "value": 4.1
    },
    {
      "period": "2026-06",
      "value": 4.4
    },
    {
      "period": "2026-07",
      "value": 5.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2026-08",
      "value": 5.3
    },
    {
      "period": "2026-09",
      "value": 5.3
    },
    {
      "period": "2026-10",
      "value": 4.8
    }
  ],
  "refresh_frequency": "Monthly",
  "data_published": "2026-11-06",
  "source": {
    "name": "Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey",
    "url": "https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410045901",
    "dataset_url": "https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/c47567d9-20d2-4b9e-9898-dfb4b7ca7aec",
    "table_url": "https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410045901",
    "table": "14-10-0459-01",
    "also": [
      {
        "name": "Table 14-10-0327-01: B.C. and Canada, unemployment rate, 15 years and over, annual (comparison lines on the longer views)",
        "url": "https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410032701"
      }
    ],
    "publisher_page": "https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/survey/household/3701",
    "locator": "Statistics Canada table 14-10-0459-01: Victoria, unemployment rate, three-month moving average, seasonally adjusted, October 2026"
  },
  "licence": {
    "name": "Open Government Licence - Canada",
    "url": "https://open.canada.ca/en/open-government-licence-canada"
  },
  "attribution": "Adapted from Statistics Canada, table 14-10-0459-01. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product. Adapted from Statistics Canada, table 14-10-0327-01. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.",
  "retrieved_at": "2026-11-12T20:26:34Z",
  "licence_type": "open",
  "source_tier": 1,
  "measure_kind": "outcome",
  "better_measure": {
    "what": "Wages by metropolitan area",
    "who_could_publish": "Statistics Canada",
    "status": "Not published as data. Not asked for yet."
  },
  "status_rule": {
    "rule": "One rule for every measure: a change smaller than 5% of the earlier value, or smaller than the agency's own margin of error, is “About the same”; no change is calculated across a marked break in a series; homelessness estimates, prices, staffing and comparison pages are shown for context without a label.",
    "reason": "Statistics Canada's standard error of the year-over-year change is 0.8 points, so the 95% margin is about 1.6 points; the +0.6-point change is smaller than that.",
    "threshold_percent": 5.0
  },
  "changes": {
    "year": {
      "period": "October 2025",
      "value": 4.2,
      "text": "vs Oct 2025: +0.6 points"
    },
    "five_year": {
      "period": "2021-10",
      "years": 5,
      "value": 4.3,
      "comparable": true,
      "text": "vs 2021-10: +0.5 pt"
    }
  },
  "direction": {
    "type": "outcome",
    "rule": "Outcome measures read Better, Worse or About the same; published government targets read Ahead of, On or Behind target; value-judgement measures read Rising, Falling or Steady in a neutral colour. A change smaller than the agency's own margin of error, or otherwise smaller than 5% of the earlier value, is About the same (or Steady). No change is calculated across a marked break in a series.",
    "key": "same",
    "label": "About the same this year. Worse over 5 years.",
    "arrow": "▲",
    "rel": 14.285714285714276,
    "delta": 0.5999999999999996,
    "vs": "October 2025",
    "cur": "3 months to October 2026",
    "why": "Statistics Canada's standard error of the year-over-year change is 0.8 points, so the 95% margin is about 1.6 points; the +0.6-point change is smaller than that. Over 5 years (since 2021-10) the change is 11.6% of the earlier value, at or above the 5% threshold, so the label also says Worse over 5 years.",
    "change": "0.6 pt",
    "one_year": "+0.6 pt",
    "five": {
      "period": "2021-10",
      "comparable": true,
      "delta": 0.5,
      "text": "+0.5 pt",
      "years": 5
    },
    "sig_based": true,
    "label_one_year": "About the same",
    "long_key": "worse",
    "long_label": "Worse over 5 years"
  },
  "benchmark": {
    "rung": 5,
    "rung_name": "No target found",
    "as_of": "2026-11-12",
    "items": [
      {
        "kind": "none",
        "label": "No target found",
        "text": "No target for the unemployment rate, for Greater Victoria or for B.C., found in the Ministry of Jobs and Economic Growth 2026/27 to 2028/29 Service Plan (February 2026) or in the joint statement of the Government of Canada and the Bank of Canada renewing the inflation-control target (November 2026), as of November 12, 2026. The plan has no employment or unemployment measure. The joint statement says price stability supports maximum sustainable employment and sets no number for employment; its only numeric target is 2% inflation, within a range of 1% to 3%. Who could set one: the Province of B.C. or the Government of Canada.",
        "area": "Greater Victoria",
        "source": {
          "title": "Ministry of Jobs and Economic Growth 2026/27 to 2028/29 Service Plan",
          "publisher": "Province of B.C.",
          "date": "February 2026",
          "url": "https://www.bcbudget.gov.bc.ca/2026/sp/pdf/ministry/jeg.pdf",
          "terms": "https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/home/copyright",
          "refresh": "Yearly, with the provincial budget (February)",
          "licence": "Public document, not under an open licence. Quoted with attribution.",
          "checked": "2026-11-12",
          "key": "jeg_sp"
        },
        "documents_checked": [
          {
            "title": "Ministry of Jobs and Economic Growth 2026/27 to 2028/29 Service Plan",
            "publisher": "Province of B.C.",
            "date": "February 2026",
            "url": "https://www.bcbudget.gov.bc.ca/2026/sp/pdf/ministry/jeg.pdf",
            "terms": "https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/home/copyright",
            "refresh": "Yearly, with the provincial budget (February)",
            "licence": "Public document, not under an open licence. Quoted with attribution.",
            "checked": "2026-11-12",
            "key": "jeg_sp"
          },
          {
            "title": "Joint statement renewing the 2% inflation-control target",
            "publisher": "Government of Canada and Bank of Canada",
            "date": "November 2026",
            "url": "https://www.bankofcanada.ca/2026/11/joint-statement-of-the-government-of-canada-and-the-bank-of-canada-on-the-renewal-of-the-monetary-policy-framework-2026/",
            "terms": "https://www.bankofcanada.ca/terms/",
            "refresh": "Every five years",
            "licence": "Public document, not under an open licence. Quoted with attribution.",
            "checked": "2026-11-12",
            "key": "boc"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "kind": "compare",
        "label": "Comparison, not a goal",
        "area": null,
        "source": null,
        "documents_checked": null,
        "text": "The B.C. and Canada lines are shown for comparison. They are not a goal."
      }
    ],
    "drawn": [],
    "rule": "Highest rung found is shown; the site never sets a target. Methods, Targets."
  },
  "benchmarks": [
    {
      "rung": 4,
      "kind": "comparison",
      "label": "The B.C. and Canada lines are shown for comparison. They are not a goal.",
      "fit": "full",
      "drawn": true,
      "area": null,
      "applies_here": false,
      "same_measure": true
    }
  ],
  "highest_rung": 4,
  "no_target_found": {
    "documents_checked": [
      "boc",
      "jeg_sp"
    ],
    "checked_on": "2026-11-12",
    "who_could_set": [
      "The Province of B.C. or the Government of Canada"
    ]
  },
  "decided_by": [
    {
      "body": "NONE",
      "name": "No government decides this directly",
      "note": "Employers and workers decide hiring."
    },
    {
      "body": "BOC",
      "name": "Bank of Canada",
      "decides": "Conducts monetary policy. Its law asks it to reduce swings in production, trade, prices and employment where it can.",
      "laws": [
        {
          "key": "boce",
          "label": "Bank of Canada Act, preamble",
          "url": "https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/B-2/FullText.html"
        },
        {
          "key": "boc21",
          "label": "Bank of Canada Act, s. 21",
          "url": "https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/B-2/FullText.html"
        }
      ],
      "last": null,
      "next": null
    }
  ],
  "main_decision_maker": "No government decides this directly",
  "label_1y": {
    "key": "same",
    "label": "About the same"
  },
  "label_long": {
    "key": "worse",
    "label": "Worse",
    "years": 5,
    "change": "+0.5 pt"
  },
  "target_line": {
    "form": 4,
    "text": "No target found · B.C. 6.4%",
    "target": null,
    "gap": null,
    "comparison": "B.C. 6.4%",
    "applies_here": false,
    "note": null
  }
}