Stats Canada came out with unemployment numbers for May on Friday morning (June 5) and as expected things did not look good last month.
The Alberta jobless rate went up over two points to an unprecedented 15.5%. The May numbers show a second straight month of job losses fueled by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The agency though says the fact businesses are opening again and people are starting to go back to work should help somewhat turn the unemployment numbers around for June.
Meanwhile, the Lethbridge-Medicine Hat region saw a jump in the jobless rate in May as well to an even 9.0% Despite that, it’s the lowest in the province. The Banff region is experiencing the highest unemployment in Alberta right now at over 14%
The national picture isn’t much better. The Canadian jobless rate rose to 13.7% with 5.5 million people out of work across the country.
Alberta Jobless Rate by Region May 2020
Lethbridge-Medicine Hat: 9.0%
Camrose-Drumheller: 10.4%
Calgary: 13.2%
Banff-Jasper-Rocky Mountain House: 14.1%
Athabasca-Grande Prairie-Peace River: 14.1%
Red Deer: 12.7%
Edmonton: 13.8%
Wood Buffalo-Cold Lake: 9.9%