Local unemployment fell in March, according to the latest figures from Statistics Canada.--News Photo Collin Gallant
@MedicineHatNews
Unemployment in southern Alberta fell by half a percentage point in March, according to new numbers from Statistics Canada, which puts the rate in Medicine Hat-Lethbridge economic region at 6.7 per cent.
That was also half a point less than the provincial figure as the Alberta jobless rate rose year-over-year.
Compared to March 2024, the region south of Calgary saw the number of unemployed people fall by 1,500 to 11,100, but the labour force shrunk and the number of positions also decreased.
Full-time employment fell while part-time work rose, leading a net loss of about 6,900 jobs.
Alberta’s rate was 7.2 per cent in March, while unemployment was lowest in the Fort McMurray region at 5.4 per cent, just below northeast Alberta (5.5 per cent) and the Camrose-Drumheller area (5.8 per cent).
The two major centres of Calgary and Edmonton were both higher at 7.7 and 7.4 per cent, respectively, and Red Deer posted a rate of 6.8 per cent, down slightly.
Saskatchewan posted the lowest rate of any province at 5.4 per cent. Swift Current-Moose Jaw’s rate rose by 1.7 points to 6.7 per cent, well above that province’s rate of 5.4 per cent.
The national rate climbed to 6.9 per cent, up 0.7 points from March 2024.
