Unemployment in Alberta remains steady, Edmonton’s jobless rate still high

Edmonton’s unemployment rate is among the highest in the country, according to new data from Statistics Canada.

The November 2024 Labour Force Survey, released on Friday, found that despite a 0.3 percentage point decline from the month prior, Edmonton had the second-highest unemployment rate in Canada (8.3 per cent) behind only Windsor, Ont. (8.7 per cent).

Calgary, meanwhile, climbed to 7.9 per cent from 7.7 per cent in October.

Lethbridge saw a significant jump from 5.2 per cent to 5.7 per cent.

Alberta’s unemployment rate was largely unchanged in November, climbing a meager 0.2  percentage points to sit at 7.5 per cent.

The move takes the province’s jobless rate back to where it sat in October.

Alberta is the province with the fourth-highest unemployment rate in Canada, behind Ontario (7.5 per cent), Prince Edward Island (eight per cent) and Newfound Land and Labrador (10.1 per cent).

The survey noted employment increases in Alberta (+24,000; +1.0 per cent) and Quebec (+22,000; +0.5 per cent) accounted for most of the overall national employment increase (+51,000; +0.2 per cent) in November.

In Alberta, the employment gain in November was the third in four months, and pushed the employment rate in the province up 0.4 percentage points to 64.1 per cent.

The unemployment rate in Alberta was little changed at 7.5 per cent.

Nationally, Canada’s unemployment rate was 6.8 per cent in November.

The Labour Force Survey examined the week of Nov. 10 to 16.

Source