Alberta has lost more than 100,000 jobs from a year ago, according to data released Thursday by Statistics Canada.

The federal agency reported that payroll employment in the province in March was down 94,500 positions from April and by 107,900 from March 2019.

Alberta continued to have the highest average weekly earnings of all provinces in the country with $1,173.70, which was down 0.5 per cent month-over-month but up 1.4 per cent year-over-year.

In Canada, payroll employment deceased by 914,500 on a monthly basis and by 760,500 on an annual basis.

Average weekly earnings for the country of $1,053 rose by 0.6 per cent month-over-month and by 3.7 per cent year-over-year.

The report said nearly one in four payroll jobs lost from February to March were in the food services and drinking places subsector (-204,800 or -18 per cent). 

“This subsector was heavily impacted by the third week of March, by which time measures related to COVID-19―such as mandatory closures or orders to provide curtailed services, like takeout―took effect. These employment losses represented the vast majority (87.6 per cent) of the decline in accommodation and food services (-233,800 or -17.4 per cent), partly due to the subsector’s large share of employment in the sector. A notable decline was also observed in accommodation services (-29,000 or -14.3 per cent), the other subsector in accommodation and food services,” said StatsCan.

In retail trade (-140,900 or -7.0 per cent), payroll employment declined across all 12 subsectors, with the largest proportional decreases in furniture and home furnishings stores (-12,300 or -16.9 per cent), sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores (-11,000 or -13.2 per cent) and motor vehicle and parts dealers (-29,200 or -13.0 per cent).”

The report said declining oil prices and a decreasing international demand for oil due to reduced economic activity did not negatively impact payroll employment and earnings in oil and gas extraction in March.

“Employment in the subsector increased month over month (+2.8 per cent) and earnings did not vary significantly. Payroll employment in other natural resources subsectors such as mining and forestry was also little changed in March,” said the federal agency.

“Some high-paying sectors where physical distancing or teleworking are less practical were affected by the COVID-19 economic shutdown.”