The manufacturing sector in BC encompasses activities from the manufacture of clothing, plastics, computers and aerospace products, to more traditional activities such as food processing and pulp, paper and lumber production. The main manufacturing industries are largely resource-based, with a major emphasis on forest products, food and metal products.

A large-and growing-share of BC's manufacturing industry isn't related to the resource sector at all. Manufacturers in the province are engaged in a lot of different activities. They build ships and aircraft parts, and make traffic light switching systems, signs, fibre-optic cables and plastics. They print books and brochures, and make furniture, pottery, machinery and clothing. BC firms produce vitamins and other health care products, and they make computers and other electronics, as well as a host of other types of goods.

Feeling the heat of a global recession, manufacturing slumped 14.5% in 2009 as a result of wood manufacturing shrinking (-18.8%) for a third straight year, and the paper industry (-16.0%) marking its fourth consecutive yearly decline. While most manufacturing industries shrank, the food products industry bounced back (+3.1%) from a downturn in 2008.

Between 1997 and 2009 several industries have risen in importance within the manufacturing sector. The computer and peripheral equipment industry has nearly tripled its GDP (+195%), while pharmaceuticals and medicines (+176%) and electronic products (+73%) have also had significant increases in their GDP.

In 2009, the manufacturing sector had shipments valued at about $33 billion, and employed nearly 164,000 persons.

Manufacturing Shipments by Industry - 2009
Industry	$Millions	%
Wood	4,646	14.2
Food	5,742	17.5
Paper	4,432	13.5
Primary metal	2,074	6.3
Machinery	1,550	4.7
Computer and electronic products	1,091	3.3
Transportation equipment	944	2.9
Plastics and rubber	943	2.9
Furniture and related	885	2.7
Printing and related	606	1.9
Other	9,803	30.0
Total	32,716	100.0

The variety of products produced by this industry means that its workers have a broad range of skills and occupations. Labourers, millwrights, pulp and paper or sawmill machine operators, welders, sales representatives, operators of food processing equipment, and truck drivers are among the most common occupations in this industry.

Nearly half (48%) of the workers in this industry are in occupations specific to manufacturing. These include operators of industry-specific machinery and process control systems or assemblers of electronic products, as well as labourers.

Trades, transportation and equipment operators such as machinists, welders, mechanics, tailors, delivery drivers or materials handlers make up 23% of the total workforce. Business, finance and administration (9%), management (8%), and natural and applied sciences (6%) occupations are also fairly common. Natural and applied sciences occupations include engineers, especially mechanical engineers, computer programmers and information systems professionals, and workers such as engineering or chemical technicians.

One in three manufacturing workers in science-related occupations is employed in the computer, electronics and electrical products industry. The wood, paper, rubber, plastics and chemicals, and fabricated metals industries also employ workers in this occupational group.

Common arts-related occupations for manufacturing workers include graphic designers and illustrators, as well as artisans and craftspeople. The printing and miscellaneous manufacturing industries are the main employers for people in these occupations. Miscellaneous manufacturing produces, among other things, jewelry and silverware as well as signs and displays.

Most (65%) of the manufacturing jobs in BC are located in Mainland/Southwest, which is home to 61% of the province’s total workforce. Many resource-related manufacturers locate their production facility close to the source of their raw materials, which is one reason why the Thompson-Okanagan, Cariboo and North Coast & Nechako regions of BC account for a bigger share of employment in manufacturing than their share of total employment. Eleven percent of the jobs in manufacturing are located in the Vancouver Island/Coast region, considerably less than the region’s share (17%) of total employment in the province.

Employment in manufacturing is expected to grow slightly more than total employment in the province during the next few years, and the industry is forecast to regain its position as the largest employer in the goods sector. In terms of GDP, manufacturing is forecast to slightly outpace overall economic growth, and its share of total GDP is expected to rise from just over 9% to just over 10% by 2017.