Unemployment in Alberta is higher that the national rate for the first time in 27 years. It hit 7.4 per cent last month, as the province lost 10,000 jobs. That’s up from 7 per cent in December and higher than the country’s 7.2.
The news isn’t any better in Grande Prairie. The economic region that stretches from Banff to Peace River has had its unemployment rate more than double over the past year.
It’s now sitting at 7.9 per cent, when it was 3.7 in January 2015. Moving up from 7.5 per cent last month, this was the fifth consecutive month the rate has increased locally.