Unemployment numbers hold steady in Alberta’s southeast

By COLLIN GALLANT on October 10, 2020.

cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant

The southeast region’s unemployment rate held steady in September and below the Alberta jobless rate that also remained steady, though more people returned to work according to figures released on Friday.

In the Medicine Hat-Lethbridge region, the rate remained at 8.6 per cent, where it sat in August, though a full point higher than one year earlier.

Across the province, the number of employed persons rose by about 36,000, while the size of the labour force rose by about the same number.

That kept the unemployment rate at 11.7 per cent – down one-10th of a point – but all figures are worse than one year ago.

In Sept. 2019, the Alberta jobless rate was 6.6 per cent and there were about 145,000 more working people.

The recent gains were felt most in major centres. In Calgary the rate fell 1.8 per cent from August to 12.6 per cent, equal to Edmonton’s, which was one point lower month to month.

In more rural regions, rates fell by about one point in Red Deer (now at 12.1 per cent), Banff-Grande Prairie (11.2), and Camrose (12.4). Wood Buffalo (Fort McMurray) saw the rate move lower by half of one point to 11.4 per cent.

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