So what do we manufacture here? The province's manufacturing industry developed around processing the abundant natural resources harvested or extracted in the province: canning salmon, processing fruits and berries, producing lumber and paper, and smelting and refining ores. These activities still dominate manufacturing in BC, but their role has been diminishing over time as other industries are becoming more prominent.

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.

BC's manufacturing industry is a significant player in the economy. It's the biggest employer in the goods sector, and the third biggest in the economy as a whole. And it's an industry that has seen a lot of changes over the last few years.

During the last decade and a half, the composition of BC's manufacturing industry has been changing. It remains dominated by resource-based production, but the focus is gradually shifting to a greater emphasis on other products such as computers, electronics, plastics and clothing. This has partly been fostered by free trade agreements, which have opened up new markets for Canadian products. As well, new types of manufacturing have emerged in order to take advantage of changes in technology, and shifting consumer and business demand for various types of products.

Resource-based activities still account for the lion's share of total manufacturing in the province. Wood, paper, food, beverages, non-metallic minerals, primary and fabricated metal and petroleum and coal production generates about two-thirds of the industry's GDP, and employs six out of ten manufacturing workers. However, the dominant role of resources is being eroded. Since 1990, the share of manufacturing GDP that originates in non-resource industries has climbed from about just under 19% to 33%. These industries now provide four out of every ten manufacturing jobs.

Within manufacturing, wood, food processing, metal fabricating and paper are the biggest employers. Over half of the manufacturing industry's GDP, and 47% of the workers, have jobs in these industries. However, that's down from 52% of employment at the beginning of the 1990s. The remaining resource-based manufacturers are relatively small employers.

Other significant employers in the manufacturing industry are non-resource related industries. These include manufacturers of machinery, miscellaneous products, and transportation equipment, which each employ about 5% of the manufacturing workforce.

BC's manufacturing industries employed 198,200 people in 2005. Wood (45,800), food (26,400), metal fabricating (18,100) and paper (12,300) manufacturing were the biggest employers, together providing nearly half of the jobs in the industry.

The usual work week in manufacturing is just under 40 hours, and workers in the industry earn an average wage rate of $20.31 per hour.

Not all manufacturing workers are equally well-paid. Within the industry, average hourly wage rates are highest in primary metal ($27), paper ($27) and computer and electronic products ($24) manufacturing. Workers in the wood products industry earn an average wage of $21 per hour. Average hourly wages are lowest in clothing manufacturing, where workers typically earn about $13 an hour, and in furniture ($14) and food ($15) manufacturing.

Workers spent the most time on the job each week in the metal fabricating, plastic and rubber and machinery industries. The shortest work week was in beverage and tobacco product manufacturing.

Most of the manufacturing jobs in BC are located in the Lower Mainland, 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 why the Interior and North Coast/Nechako regions of BC account for a bigger share of employment in manufacturing than in the province as a whole.

Ten percent of the jobs in manufacturing are located in Vancouver Island/Coast, considerably less than the region's share (16%) of total employment in the province.