B.C. to see 1 million job openings by 2022 thanks to boomers (sort of)

THE#BCBIZDAILY
Need-to-know news and insight for Wednesday, Jan. 7

Jobs, jobs, jobs!
Good news: KPMG expects 1 million job openings in B.C. between now and 2022. But the key driver isn’t economic growth. It’s retirement. As boomers ease into their golden years, nearly 670,000 openings are expected to emerge, accounting for 68 per cent of the 2022 figure. Economic growth accounts for the other 32 per cent. Those numbers, KPMG says, are confirmed. The uncertain elephant in the room is LNG; in a best case scenario, KPMG anticipates an additional 100,000 B.C. jobs could be created. In addition to these oil and gas gigs, health care careers are expected to be in high demand as well, not surprising considering the above retirement figure. For more in-depth analysis, you can check out the full British Columbia 2022 Labour Market Outlook report, available here.

Comeback town, maybe
Speaking of a million, $1 million is how much a Chinese real estate developer paid for Bradian, a ghost town two hours north of Whistler that’s been on the market since 2010. The deal, which closed last week, is inclusive: 22 homes, fire hydrants, streets and all. The developer, China Zhong Ya Group Hebei Canada-China Co., has ambitions almost as big as its name: to resurrect the ghost town into a recreation hub.

Game over?
What will happen if Vancouver’s stable (but fragile) video game industry loses a crucial tax credit in next month’s budget? The 17.5 per cent rebate on certain salaries has “stemmed the bleeding” in Vancouver, according to DigiBC president Howard Donaldson, as competition to entice game developers has heated up abroad. If the five-year tax credit isn’t renewed in February, industry watchers worry the local video game industry’s challenges could reach a whole new punishing level. Read the full story here.