There was some very positive news on Friday on the labour front in the Calgary and Edmonton regions.
Statistics Canada reported that the unemployment rates in the two Alberta cities fell in November while the numbers of jobs created increased.
The federal agency said the unemployment rate in the Calgary census metropolitan area dropped to 7.9 per cent from 8.2 per cent the previous month while in the Edmonton census metropolitan area it decreased from 6.3 per cent in October to 6.2 per cent in November.
Across the province, unemployment fell to 6.3 per cent from 7.3 per cent the previous month.
Employment gains were impressive. The Calgary region saw employment rise by 7,700 on a monthly basis while it was up 3,400 in the Edmonton region and by 23,700 across the province.
On an annual basis, employment in Alberta is up 58,900 positions, led by Edmonton with a gain of 26,500 and Calgary with 13,400 more jobs than a year ago.
StatsCan said Alberta’s employment picture was boosted by gains in full-time work.
Nationally, employment rose by 94,000 in November, driven by gains in full-time work. The unemployment rate decreased 0.2 percentage points to 5.6 per cent, the lowest since comparable data became available in 1976.
In the 12 months to November, employment grew by 219,000, reflecting gains in full-time work (227,000).
“In November, employment in professional, scientific and technical services increased by 26,000, led by Ontario and Quebec. On a year-over-year basis, employment was little changed in this industry. In health care and social assistance, employment rose for the second consecutive month, up 19,000 in November. Most of the increase came from Alberta and Ontario. In the 12 months to November, employment in the industry increased 57,000 or 2.4 per cent,” said the federal agency.
“In November, the number of private sector employees increased by 79,000, while it was little changed for public sector employees after declining in October. The number of self-employed was also little changed.
On a year-over-year basis, the number of private sector employees rose by 146,000 (+1.2 per cent), while the number of public sector employees grew by 48,000 (+1.3 per cent). Over the same period, there was little change in the number of self-employed workers.”
Statistics Canada said employment among those aged 25 to 54 was up 49,000 in November as the unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage points to 4.6 per cent for core-aged women, and by 0.2 percentage points to 4.7 per cent for core-aged men. In the 12 months to November, employment within this age group rose by 208,000 (+1.7 per cent), largely the result of gains for women (+129,000), it said.
“In November, employment for those aged 55 and over grew by 39,000, driven by increases among men. As more people in this age group searched for work, their unemployment rate rose by 0.6 percentage points to 5.5 per cent, the highest rate since November 2017. On a year-over-year basis, employment for this age group increased by 72,000 (+1.8 per cent), also primarily the result of gains for men (+53,000),” explained the federal agency.
“Employment among youth aged 15 to 24 was little changed in November, and their unemployment rate was also little changed at 10.8 per cent. Compared with November 2017, youth employment was down 61,000 (-2.4 per cent), the largest year-over-year decrease since July 2016.”
StatsCan also said the number of people employed in cannabis-related jobs in November was 10,400, an increase of 7,500 (+266 per cent) from 12 months earlier.
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