The State of BC’s Forests The Indicators Jobs and communities — PDF print version

Indicator 18 – Jobs and communities

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Why is this important?

Forests provide a major source of employment and income for many of B.C.’s communities.

Overview

• Forest-based jobs support individual workers, their families, and the economic and social fabric of their communities. Worker safety is a vital aspect of maintaining this support.
• Many of British Columbia’s rural and First Nations communities are dependent on forest-based employment.
• Since 1970, employment in the forest sector has been fairly stable while the province’s economy grew and diversified. Provincial dependence on the forest sector has decreased, but many areas are still highly dependent.

STATE

mixed

TREND

mixed

INFORMATION

adequate

Questions about jobs and communities

18-1	How many jobs rely on B.C.’s forests?
18-2	How much income is based on B.C.’s forests?
18-3	How dependent on forests are B.C.’s communities?
18-4	How many injuries and fatalities occur in the forest sector?
	Ministry of Forests and Range’s assessment

Related indicators

• Changes in technology and market demands affect employment in the forests and related manufacturing (see Timber harvest, Forest products).
• Employment and community stability affects government revenues and expenses (see Management capacity).
• Management responses include policy changes (see Law).

Indicator 18-1

How many jobs rely on B.C.’s forests?

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Why is this important?

A significant portion of the province’s jobs depend on B.C.’s forests.

State and Trend

• Forest-based industries include harvesting and processing of timber, cattle ranching, nature-based tourism and non-timber forest products.
• Direct employment in these industries averaged about 120,000 jobs since 1970, fluctuating with changing product demand, increasing productivity, a changing mix of products and services, and contracting²⁶.
• Indirect employment in industries that support the forest-based industries was estimated at 60,000 additional jobs in 2004.
• Direct forest-based employment accounted for 6% of total employment in B.C. in 2000. Direct and indirect employment accounted for 9%.
• From 1987 onward, timber-based industries averaged about 93,000 jobs, or 80% of forest-based jobs. Mechanization in sawmills in the early 1980s, and pulp and paper mill closures and modernization in the late 1990s, reduced employment while the timber harvest increased.
• Direct employment in cattle ranching averaged about 7,000 jobs, or 6% of forest-based jobs, but decreased to about 5,000 jobs in 2004.
• Direct employment in nature-based commercial tourism that relies on forests (e.g., hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing and backcountry hiking) averaged an estimated 17,000 jobs (15%), and trend varied by activity.
• Maps: (none)

Information

• Employment data are from Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey, with adjustments by BC Stats. Tourism data are estimated²⁷.
• Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) industries²⁸ are estimated to provide the main employment for less than 1,500 people.
• References: 2001 Census, Statistics Canada, BC Stats, BC Wilderness Tourism, Tourism BC, Integrating NTFPs
• Related international and national indicators: MP 6.5.a; CCFM 5.3.5

Indicator 18-2

How much income is based on B.C.’s forests?

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Why is this important?

Income based on forests supports many of B.C.’s workers, their families and communities.

State and Trend

• Forest-based labour income is earned through direct employment in forest-based industries and indirect employment in service industries that support the forest-based industries.
• In 2000, direct and indirect forest-based labour income was $6.57 billion, or about 10% of the provincial labour income from all industries.
• Timber industries (forestry, logging, lumber, panels, pulp and paper) accounted for $4.27 billion (92% of direct forest-based income).
• Non-timber industries (cattle ranching and nature-based tourism) accounted for $0.38 billion (8% of direct forest-based income). Images of forests are also important to the rest of the tourism industry.
• Average income in forest-based industries was $38,400, 20% higher than the $31,900 in all industries. It was highest in pulp and paper ($57,500), followed by wood manufacturing ($41,800), logging ($38,400), nature-based tourism ($16,900) and cattle ranching ($16,700).
• Between 1991 and 2004, average weekly earnings adjusted for inflation increased about 10% in forestry and wood manufacturing, and decreased about 5% in pulp and paper and nature-based tourism.
• Maps: Wood-processing mills (PDF)

Information

• Labour income statistics for 2000 are from the 2001 census.
• Reliable data are not available for labour income from harvesting NTFPs. The work is generally seasonal and few people identify this as their primary employment. Earnings vary greatly, as do skills and experience.
• References: 2001 Census, Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics
• Related international and national indicators: MP 6.5.b; CCFM 5.3.6

Indicator 18-3

How dependent on forests are B.C.’s communities?

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Why is this important?

Many B.C. communities depend on a strong local forest industry for their economic and social well-being.

State and Trend

• Community sustainability depends on many factors such as income, diversity of income sources, potential for and proximity to alternative employment, amenity values and leadership in addressing change.
• Timber-based industries supported community sustainability with around 10% of the provincial gross domestic product (GDP) in the late 1980s. By the early 2000s, their GDP increased by about one quarter. However, with diversification and faster growth in the rest of the provincial economy, their share of provincial GDP decreased to about 7%²⁹.
• The sale of most forest-based goods and services provides basic income³⁰ that flows into a community, pays resident employees, and creates other local jobs as the money circulates within the community.
• Many B.C. communities obtain a high proportion of their basic income from timber-based industries. In 2001, 35 of 63 local areas³¹ (excluding greater Vancouver) obtained 20% to 57% of their basic income from the timber and tourism industries. These areas include 48 communities with a total population of 350,000, not including surrounding rural areas.
• The map of forest sector vulnerability shows relative sensitivities of the 63 local-area economies to downturns in timber-based industries.
• Many of the most vulnerable communities are in areas where future timber supplies are at risk due to the mountain pine beetle epidemic.
• Maps: Dominant Income (PDF), Local Timber Supply Forecast (PDF)

Information

• The vulnerability index³² is based on the percentage of income from timber-based industries and on the diversity of basic income sources.
• References: BC Stats, 2001 Census
• Related international and national indicators: MP 6.5.c; CCFM 6.3.1 to 6.3.4

Indicator 18-4

How many injuries and fatalities occur in the forest sector?

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Why is this important?

Injuries and fatalities disrupt workers’ lives, families and communities, and reduce the forest sector’s productivity and ability to attract skilled workers.

State and Trend

• Injuries and fatalities result from dangerous situations, equipment failure, cultural attitudes, market and workplace pressures, company and government policies, human error and other factors (fatigue, dehydration, inadequate conditioning, stress, drugs and alcohol).
• The forest sector’s number of fatalities has generally decreased over the past 35 years, but its number of fatalities is still the second highest of all sectors (the transportation sector is highest). The number of fatalities for other industries has increased over the past 20 years.
• The number of injuries reported in the forest sector has decreased since the 1970s. No clear trend is apparent for the sum of all other sectors.
• Small operations, employing 20 or fewer workers, employ 50% of forestry workers and experience 70% of fatalities and 67% of serious injuries in the forest sector.
• Annual, inflation-adjusted benefits paid out for disability and fatalities from 1991 to 2004, inclusive, averaged $128 million (in 2004 dollars) for the forest industry and $522 million for all other industries. Benefits paid per worker in the forest industry were almost four times those paid in all other industries ($1,149 and $306 per person-year, respectively).
• Maps: (none)

Information

• Some injury and fatality data are published annually.
• References: BC Forest Safety Council, WorkSafeBC
• Related international and national indicators: MP 6.5.b; CCFM (none)

 

Indicator 18 – Jobs and communities Ministry of Forests and Range’s assessment State mixed Forest-based employment accounted for 9% of total employment and 10% of labour income in British Columbia in 2000. Timber-based industries accounted for most of this employment, and provided substantially higher average incomes than nature-based tourism and cattle ranching. In more than half of B.C.’s 63 local economies, over 20% of labour income was forest-based in 2001. Many communities and surrounding rural areas are vulnerable to downturns in timber product markets and the impacts of the current mountain pine beetle epidemic. Compared with most other industries, work in timber-based industries can be dangerous. Average benefits paid for forest worker injuries and fatalities are almost four times the average for other industries. Trend mixed Forest-based employment continues to play an important role in B.C.’s economy and communities. However, market pressures and trade disputes have reduced employment in the timber-based industries in recent years, especially along the Coast. As companies continue to reduce their non-skilled labour force in order to stay viable and competitive, communities can no longer rely on timber-based industries to provide employment to large numbers of mill workers and will need to continue looking for employment growth in other sectors. Forest worker injuries and fatalities have generally decreased since the 1970s. A sharp increase in fatalities in 2005 has prompted inquiries into possible causes and solutions. Information adequate Extensive employment and labour income statistics are publicly available. Statistics for nature-based tourism are not tracked separately, and can only be estimated. Changes in the classifications of sub-sectors of timber-based industries may cause minor unreliability of trend analyses by sub-sector. Sophisticated modelling of community dependence on the forest sector and other sectors has been reported periodically. Some injury and fatality data are published annually.