Unemployment in the Central Okanagan surged again in October, rising to 9.3 per cent from 7.1 per cent in September.

There are now 13,800 people looking for work in greater Kelowna, significantly more than than during the pandemic.

Kelowna appears poised to overtake Kamloops as the B.C. with the highest unemployment rate. Joblessness in Kamloops, which has been much higher than other B.C. cities for months, rose only slightly in October, to 9.6 per cent from 9.5 per cent in September.

Victoria once again had B.C.’s lowest unemployment rate, actually dropping from 4.8 per cent to 4.2 per cent in October.

“Today’s labour force survey is a tale of two economies, especially when it comes to household financial insecurity,” Kelowna Mission Conservative MLA Gavin Dew said.

“In government to

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