Updated July 2026. British Columbia’s 2025 Labour Market Outlook, published by WorkBC, identifies 125 “high-opportunity” occupations expected to stay in demand through 2035. If you’re weighing a move to B.C. — or already there and choosing a career path — this outlook helps explain which occupations provinces and employers tend to prioritize.
B.C.’s Labour Market Through 2035
- Employment projected to grow from roughly 2.9 million jobs (late 2025) to 3.3 million by 2035, averaging about 1.2% annual growth
- Over 1 million total job openings expected between 2025 and 2035
- 77% of those openings will require post-secondary education, training, or certification
B.C.’s labour market has also stayed relatively tight compared to the rest of the country — the province’s unemployment rate sat at 6.1% in November 2025, below the national rate of 6.8% in December 2025.
What Makes an Occupation “High-Opportunity”
WorkBC doesn’t rank occupations on job growth alone. It scores them across several factors: projected number of openings, employment growth trends, labour market tightness (how hard positions are to fill), occupation-specific unemployment rates, and wage stability. Only occupations that score well across all of these make the list — filtering out short-term hiring spikes in favour of occupations with sustained, long-term demand. Collectively, the 125 identified occupations account for about 40% of all projected job openings in the province through 2035.
What Kind of Roles Made the List
All 125 occupations fall under TEER categories 0 through 3 of Canada’s National Occupational Classification — meaning management-level experience, university education, or college/apprenticeship-level training. High-opportunity roles cluster in healthcare and social assistance, construction and skilled trades, engineering and applied sciences, information technology, education and early childhood services, and business/finance/management.
Why This Matters for Immigration Applicants
A labour market outlook helps governments and employers plan — it doesn’t guarantee immigration selection on its own. That said, high-opportunity occupations can influence provincial nomination priorities and occupation-targeted draws. If you’re assessing how your background fits, focus on matching your exact NOC code and TEER level rather than just your job title, since that’s what actually determines relevance to specific immigration pathways — program eligibility rules, quotas, and language requirements still apply regardless of how in-demand your occupation is.
Source: WorkBC, B.C.’s Labour Market Outlook.
