Unemployment in the region down again, says Statistics Canada report

By Medicine Hat News on May 11, 2018.

Unemployment in every region of Alberta for April continued to fall compared to last year, according to new figures from Statistics Canada.

That includes a drop to 6 per cent in the Medicine Hat-Lethbridge region from 6.8 per cent in April 2017 and 6.5 per cent in March.

Across the province the jobless rate moved to 6.7 per cent, a slight increase from the month before, but well below 7.9 per cent record 12 months earlier.

Provincially, almost 32,000 positions were added over 12 months in goods producing sectors, with the respective oilpatch and manufacturing sectors each posting a yearly gains of 13,000 positions, or about 10 per cent.

Service sector positions increased by 4,000 year over year.

Three-month averages in major centres show jobless rate declines to 6.6 per cent in Edmonton and 8.0 per cent in Calgary, from 8.2 and 9.2, respectively.

The national unemployment rate was also down, to 5.8 per cent. Saskatchewan remained about even at 6.3 per cent. British Columbia had the lowest rate at 5 per cent, followed by Quebec (5.4), Ontario (5.6) and Manitoba (6.1).

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