First major drop in Alberta labour market since oil price collapse

Alberta lost 14,000 net jobs last month, as its unemployment rate skyrocketed 0.8 percentage points to 5.3 per cent.

7,000 of those were in the resource sector, mostly in support positions.

It’s the first major decline for the province’s labour marker since the oil price collapse, and the jobless rate is the highest its been since September 2011.

Nationally, the rate is up to 6.8 per cent, while in the western Alberta economic region that houses Grande Prairie and Peace River, the rate shot up to 4.2 per cent.

While that’s a gain of 0.5 percentage points, the area now has the lowest jobless rate in the province.