Alberta’s unemployment rate had some mixed results in July.
According to numbers from Statistics Canada, the rate went up from 7.4 percent in June to 7.8 percent in July.
The one piece of good news is that it still represents a drop of 0.8 percent from July of 2016.
Meanwhile, ATB Financial said in their publication, The Owl, that the province’s employment numbers depend greatly on which area you live in.
In the Fort McMurray area, things continue to improve, with the unemployment rate at 7.4 percent in July, which represents about a two percent improvement year over year.
Even further, the Red Deer area saw their numbers plunge from double-digits last year to just 5.8 percent now. But the lowest unemployment rage came in the Lethbridge/Medicine Hat area, where it was just four percent. Even at its highest, the ATB says this area never once rose above 7.6 percent.
But the same can’t really be said for Alberta’s two largest cities. The unemployment rate is currently at 8.5 percent for both Calgary and Edmonton. In Calgary, it represents an improvement, where the rates topped 10 percent in summer 2016 due to job losses in the oil and gas sector.
But in Edmonton, it represents a continued rise in the jobless rate, with jobs continuing to lag in the oil field support and manufacturing job sector, and are starting to dry up.
– Posted by BET
