Local unemployment rate dips, remains below provincial average
By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on August 10, 2024.
Construction crews work on utilities upgrades below S. Railway Street in this May 2017 file photo. The regional unemployment rate fell in July and remains below he provincial average.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
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The local jobless rate fell to 5.2 per cent in July according to new statistics for the combined Lethbridge-Medicine Hat economic region released by Statistics Canada on Friday.
The figure is down 0.7 per cent in July 2023 and is the second lowest economic region in the province behind the Camrose-Drumheller region at 4.6 per cent.
Statistics Canada does not separate out local conditions from the larger economic region that includes most areas south of Calgary, but states the area has seen labour force growth of more than 16,000 workers over the course of one year.
Full-time work was substantially higher year over year, rising to 16,800 out of a total labour force of 17,810.
Alberta’s unemployment rate is sitting at 7.1 per cent, unchanged from June. However Edmontons’s jobless rate spiked to 7.9 per cent and is among the highest in the country.
Calgary jobless rate also grew to 7.3 per cent while Red Deer sits just under Edmonton at 7.8 per cent.
Nationally the unemployment rate sits at 6.4 per cent with Saskatchewan and Quebec showing the lowest jobless rates of 5.4 per cent and Newfoundland and Labrador with the country highest unemployment rate of 8.8 per cent.
YMCA employment services
Job seekers can find support through the YMCA’s Employment Centre with resumé and cover letter development, interview coaching and as well as offering job placement services to help individuals sussed in the workforce.
Services are available for entry-level job positions all the way to senior level roles, and work collaboratively with employers to determine which skills or credentials best meet the demand for positions they are hiring for.
The program also offers wage incentives to employers willing to provide job seekers with career-related work experience and training.
More information can be found online by visiting medicinehatymca.ca/employment services or by calling 403-527-4733.
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