Not very good news when it comes to local unemployment.
The latest jobs numbers released Friday (Sept. 6) from Statistics Canada show the Lethbridge-Medicine Hat jobless rate skyrocketed to 7.1% last month.
That’s the highest it’s been in several months and up substantially from 6.4% in July.
On a provincial level, Alberta’s jobless rate edged up as well in August, now sitting at 7.2%. In fact, almost every region in the province experienced an increase in jobless numbers.
The national unemployment rate held steady at 5.7% in August.
Alberta Jobless Rate by Region in August 2019
Lethbridge-Medicine Hat: 7.1%
Camrose-Drumheller: 5.6%
Calgary: 7.4%
Banff-Jasper-Rocky Mountain House: 5,4%
Athabasca-Grande Prairie-Peace River: 5.4%
Red Deer: 7.3%
Edmonton: 7.8%
Wood Buffalo-Cold Lake: 6.3%