Unemployment Rate In Alberta Jumps To 7%: New StatCan Data

Last Updated On 10 May 2024, 11:04 AM EDT (Toronto Time)

The unemployment rate in Alberta has jumped to 7% in April from 6.3% in March, as per the new employment data released by Statistics Canada today.

There were no significant changes in employment in Alberta in April and the number of job seekers increased, resulting in a 0.7 percentage point increase in unemployment.

Overall national unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.1%, while British Columbia registered highest drop of 0.5% to 5%.

Geography	April 2024	March 2024	Month-on-Month Change
Canada	6.1	6.1	0.0
Alberta	7.0	6.3	+0.7
Saskatchewan	5.7	5.4	+0.3
Ontario	6.8	6.7	+0.1
Quebec	5.1	5.0	+0.1
Manitoba	5.1	5.0	+0.1
Nova Scotia	6.1	6.2	-0.1
British Columbia	5.0	5.5	-0.5
Prince Edward Island	6.8	7.4	-0.6
New Brunswick	7.0	7.8	-0.8
Newfoundland and Labrador	9.1	10.1	-1.0

Canada unemployment rate

This data is for all the individuals in age group 15 or above.

The unemployment rate in Calgary is highest among all the major cities.

In April, the unemployment in Calgary surged to 7.9%, an increase of 1.2 percentage points from the previous month.

The increase has been caused more by the sheer number of persons looking for work rather than by a decline in employment.

It looks like “Alberta is Calling campaign” has backfired for Calgary the most, the largest population centre in Alberta and third largest in Canada.

It is estimated that the massive surge of immigrants into Alberta from other Canadian provinces has contributed to the peculiar state of the Calgary job market.

This is why Calgarians are seeing both record employment and skyrocketing unemployment concurrently.

On the other hand, job seekers are facing increased competition, which might make the search even more difficult for long-term Calgary residents.

Geography	Unemployment Rate April 2024	Unemployment Rate March 2024	Month-on-Month Change
Calgary, Alberta	7.9	6.7	+1.2
Regina, Saskatchewan	5.9	4.9	+1.0
St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador	6.9	6.2	+0.7
Winnipeg, Manitoba	5.0	4.6	+0.4
Toronto, Ontario	7.7	7.4	+0.3
Ottawa, Ontario	5.2	5.0	+0.2
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island	5.3	5.2	+0.1
Fredericton-Moncton-Saint John, New Brunswick	5.9	5.8	+0.1
Edmonton, Alberta	6.8	6.7	+0.1
Quebec, Quebec	3.3	3.3	0.0
Montreal, Quebec	5.8	5.8	0.0
Vancouver, British Columbia	5.5	5.5	0.0
Halifax, Nova Scotia	5.4	5.5	-0.1
Victoria, British Columbia	4.9	5.2	-0.3

Unemployment in Major Canadian cities

Above listed are the new unemployment rates that will be used by the Employment Insurance program effective May 12 shows highest surge for Calgary as compared to other major cities.

Rising Number of Unemployed in Canada

In April 2024, there were 1.3 million unemployed all across Canada, an increase of 256,000 as compared to April 2023.

Overall unemployment has increased from 5.7% in January 2024 to by 6.1% in March and holding steady in April at same level.

Adjusted to United States standards, Canada’s unemployment rate in April was 5.1%, 1.2 percentage points higher than the US rate of 3.9%.

Canada saw a 1.0 percentage point increase in unemployment over the previous year, while the US saw a 0.5 percentage point increase.

What is the unemployment rate in Canada?

6.1% is the unemployment rate in Canada in April 2024.

How much is the unemployment rate in Calgary?

7.9% is the unemployment rate in Calgary in the month of April 2024, up by 1.2% as compared to March 2024.

How much is the minimum wage in Alberta?

$15.00 per hour is the minimum wage in Alberta and is one of the lowest among all the major Canadian provinces after Saskatchewan.

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Gagandeep Kaur Sekhon

Gagandeep Kaur Sekhon moved to Canada in 2010 on a study visa. She navigated through the ups and downs of her student life and gained her permanent residency in 2015. Today, she is a proud Canadian citizen residing in Calgary, Alberta. She is mother of 2 beautiful daughters and making her difference through writing and guidance at INC – Immigration News Canada.