Alberta unemployment jumps in January, up locally too

For the second time in three months, employment declined in Alberta, down roughly another 19,000 jobs last month.

Statistics Canada releasing its January jobs numbers Friday morning (Feb.7).

The Lethbridge-Medicine Hat region experienced a jump in unemployment to 4.5%. That’s up half a percentage point from December when it was an even 4.0%.

Here in Alberta, the provincial rate jumped in January to 7.3 percent from 7.0%. It’s the highest rate for any province outside the maritimes.

The good news is the overall Canadian jobless rate fell slightly last month to 5.5%.

The national stats agency says roughly 35,000 mainly full-time jobs, were created across the country.

Alberta Jobless Rate by Region Jan. 2020

Lethbridge-Medicine Hat: 4-5%
Camrose-Drumheller: 5.1%
Calgary: 6.9%
Banff-Jasper-Rocky Mountain House: 6.5%
Athabasca-Grande Prairie-Peace River: 6.5%
Red Deer: 7.4%
Edmonton: 7.9%
Wood Buffalo-Cold Lake: 5.3%