The unemployment rate in my region (the Okanagan) is extremely low. Much more people have a job than those who don’t. So then why is it so difficult to get a job when there is an excess of opportunity? The opportunities typically aren’t sustainable. A livable wage in the Okanagan is currently $18.42. Minimum wage is currently $13.85. If a minimum wage worker worked full time their salary would be $28,808. That’s almost 10,000 less than livable wage. The available jobs are the minimum wage jobs. Those who are unemployed are looking for job that pay a livable wage or higher. The job market is extremely small in the Okanagan. There is a huge amount of startup companies that use every penny to better their business, and there is a huge amount of chain retailers who pay minimum wage.

The irony of it all is that many employers won’t hire someone that’s ‘overqualified’ for a position. That only means that the overqualified person has to remain unemployed until a more skilled job appears.

You can’t get a job you’re overqualified for, and there’s no job postings for the jobs you are qualified for. Lose, lose.

To live sustainably in the Okanagan, it comes down to who you know. The person with a connection to a company will be favoured over the person who is qualified that applied on Indeed. It’s a tricky system, especially for those who are unemployed and feeling depressed. Working their networks and getting out to social events is likely the last thing they want to do. It’s an unsolvable problem, well, sort of. I’m confident that the startup’s in the community will become extremely profitable and grow in size substantially. Kelowna is the ‘headquarters’ of a lot of promising companies. I believe when they become successful, precarious employment won’t be as big of an issue as it is now.