Vancouver Island Employment Trends
The unemployment rate in Nanaimo was 7.8% as of July 2025, up 0.4% from the previous month. The unemployment rate stood 11.3% below the peak from April 2011 but remains above the long-run average.
There were 500 more full-time jobs in July 2025 compared to a month earlier. Combined with a loss of 200 part-time positions, this led to an increase of 300 total jobs in July.
Full-time employment was still down 8,400 jobs from the peak in March 2024 but stood 2,100 jobs above the trough in April 2025.
* All figures are seasonally adjusted, 3-month moving averages. Seasonal adjustment removes normal seasonal fluctuations.
