VANCOUVER — British Columbia’s restaurant industry is shedding jobs at an alarming rate and has experienced the largest year-over-year drop in employment of any province, warns Restaurants Canada.
While the province gained nearly 20,000 jobs, employment in the restaurant and accommodation sector dropped by 10,800 positions compared to September 2023, according to the latest Labour Force Survey by Statistics Canada released in October 2024.
The industry lost nearly 5,000 jobs between August and September 2024, falling to 176,700 positions. In fact, it’s seeing the lowest employment level since 2016 excluding the pandemic.
This trend is borne out by Restaurants Canada’s Q3 report, which found that guest count was lower this summer for 70 per cent of restaurant companies compared to last summer, and profitability was lower for a staggering 81 per cent. Overall, only 15 per cent of restaurants say the current business climate is good or very good.
“Restaurant operators rely on the busy summer months to provide the boost necessary to sustain their already narrow profit margins as they head into less busy periods. The recent decline in sales and foot traffic is discouraging, making it understandable that many operators make the tough decision to cut back on hours of operation, shifts and staffing levels,” says Kelly Higginson, president & CEO, Restaurants Canada.
Without more political action on affordability and the cost of doing business, it’s unlikely that the situation for restaurants will improve in the coming months. Food (85 per cent) and labour costs (82 per cent) are expected to be the top challenges for restaurant owners in 2025, while sales are expected to remain stagnant.
The restaurant industry is the third-largest private sector employer in B.C., the number one source of first-time jobs and a significant contributor to the tourism product. Restaurants Canada is calling on the B.C. government to adopt measures that will relieve the pressure on restaurants and the people they employ:
- Reduce provincial payroll taxes and encourage the federal government to reduce payroll taxes for employers and workers
- Return all or part of WorkSafe BC’s $2.1 billion surplus to employers
- Implement a Tourism and Hospitality stream to B.C.’s Provincial Nominee Program
- Implement other Save BC Restaurants Menu of Issues policy recommendations
“Restaurants are feeling the pain of inflation and low consumer confidence, but so are the hundreds of thousands of British Columbians they employ, and the many other economic sectors that depend on the restaurant industry to remain profitable, such as fisheries and agriculture. The new B.C. government needs to make it a priority to support recovery for the restaurant sector,” says Mark von Schellwitz, Restaurants Canada VP, Western Canada.
