Why It's Important The number of scientists and engineers relative to total employment is a key "proxy" for the creation of high skill jobs and the attraction and retention of people who possess the knowledge and skill sets essential to the process of innovation and the creation of high paid employment.

Regional Indicator Nine measures the percent of a jurisdiction's total employment that is comprised of scientists and engineers.

The proportion of the BC workforce active in the natural and applied sciences increased slightly between 1999 and 2008. Victoria's proportion increased by 3.2 percentage points and Abbotsford's grew by 1.0.

Vancouver and Regional BC posted small declines between 1999 and 2008.

The Victoria CMA had the highest proportion of its workforce employed in natural and applied sciences in most of the years reviewed.

On average, the proportion in Victoria was seven percent higher than the proportion in Vancouver, 56 percent higher than that in Regional BC and more than double that in Abbotsford.