Business Community
Business Incorporations
Greater Victoria had strong year-over-year growth in incorporations between 2003 and 2005. Growth stabilized in 2006-2007 before falling in 2008.
The trend in BC as a whole and Metro Vancouver is similar to that observed in Greater Victoria. It is consistent with the slowing of the global economy and is likely to continue through 2009. As a share of the BC total, Greater Victoria has consistently accounted for around 6-7% of provincial incorporations.
Incorporations are a proxy for the number of new businesses in an area and are an indicator of the general health of the economy. As the economy grows, incorporations will rise while as the economy slows they fall.
|
Incorporations |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
Change 2007-2008 |
|
BC |
22,531 |
24,703 |
30,937 |
33,273 |
34,036 |
30,085 |
-12% |
|
Greater Victoria |
1,490 |
1,722 |
2,208 |
2,130 |
2,215 |
1,998 |
-10% |
|
Metro Vancouver |
15,698 |
16,819 |
20,824 |
22,303 |
22,669 |
19,850 |
-12% |
|
Greater Victoria Share of BC |
6.6% |
7.0% |
7.1% |
6.4% |
6.5% |
6.6% |
|
| Source: Ministry of Finance, Prepared by BC Stats (January 2009). Data does not include Gulf Islands or unincorporated areas within the Capital RD. | |||||||
Business Bankruptcies
The number of business bankruptcies increased sharply in Greater Victoria in the last half of 2008 compared to the first half. Bankruptcies increased from 5 in the second quarter of the year to 13 in the third quarter and 16 in the fourth quarter, which is double the 8 bankruptcies observed in the final quarter of 2007.
The overall number of bankruptcies in 2008 was up by 23% over 2007 while the rate remained stable at 1.2 per 1,000 businesses. This is in contrast to declines that were observed in Metro Vancouver and BC in both the number of bankruptcies and rate.
In all cases the bankruptcy rate per 1,000 businesses is well below the rate in 2003.
Bankruptcies per 1,000 Businesses
Bankruptcies are an indicator of the general health of the economy. During growth periods, the number of bankruptcies tends to fall while the reverse occurs as the economy slows.
|
Business Bankruptcies |
Q4-07 |
2007 |
Q1-08 |
Q2-08 |
Q3-08 |
Q4-08 |
2008 |
Change Q4-07 to Q4-08 |
Change 2007 to 2008 |
|
BC |
119 |
470 |
107 |
95 |
140 |
112 |
454 |
-6% |
-3% |
|
Greater Victoria |
8 |
35 |
9 |
5 |
13 |
16 |
43 |
100% |
23% |
|
Metro Vancouver |
61 |
201 |
42 |
30 |
51 |
38 |
161 |
-38% |
-20% |
|
Source: Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, Industry Canada. Prepared by BC Stats. Notes: Business bankruptcies are counted in region where they are filed. Totals are released quarterly while rate per 1,000 businesses is released annually by Industry Canada. |
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Self-Employment Rate
Greater Victoria has had the highest rate of self-employment among Canada's top 20 metro areas for the last two Census years, and was 2nd only to Metro Vancouver in 1996. The overall rate of self-employment has stayed constant at just over 14%, slightly lower than the overall BC rate.
Self-employment rates often fall during periods of rapid economic growth, such as the period in the early 2000s. This may help to explain the slight fall in the rate of self-employment from 2001 to 2006.
Self-employment is an indicator of the entrepreneurial character of an area. High rates of self-employment are also associated with a predominance of small business as most self-employed individuals operate small businesses.
The self-employment statistics from the Census include both incorporated and unincorporated businesses.
|
Self-Employed |
1996 |
2001 |
2006 |
Change 2001-2006 |
|
BC |
14.9% |
14.5% |
14.3% |
-0.2 pp |
|
Greater Victoria |
14.2% |
14.3% |
14.1% |
-0.2 pp |
|
Metro Vancouver |
14.3% |
13.5% |
13.4% |
-0.1 pp |
|
Greater Victoria Self-Employed |
22,325 |
23,440 |
25,505 |
2,065 |
|
Greater Victoria Rank among Canada's Top 20 Metro Areas |
2 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
Source: Statistics Canada Census. |
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