By December, BC’s unemployment rate sat at 7.2%, which followed on to 8.0% in January. As many recent graduates and professionals look for opportunities to upskill and transition into new fields, the demand for future-proof careers continues to rise. The finance sector is already one to watch as it’s estimated that BC will create almost 40,000 new accounting jobs by 2029. This increases the need for chartered professional accountants (CPA), bookkeepers, and myriad other financial positions. Before the pandemic, the unemployment rate for CPAs in BC was almost zero, says Lorena Christensen, CPA, CMA, the Director of Student Recruitment and Employer Relations for CPABC.