A new Statistics Canada reports show that the number of Albertans on Employment Insurance is soaring, but employment agencies say it’s possible to find a job.

The number of people in the province collecting E.I. went up 3.4 per cent in November over the previous month. Calgary is hardest hit with a jump of 5.1 per cent, and Edmonton not far behind with an increase of 4.9 per cent.

But employment agencies say people are soldiering on despite the downturn, especially with some recent glimmers of improvement in the economy.

“The job search side of things, definitely getting more inquiries and lots of people not just being reactive to the fact that they’ve lost a job, but thinking proactively about what to do if I lose my job because there are some feelings of pending doom in this economy,” said Michelle Cook, Calgary Career Counselling.

Cook says now is the time to forge ahead with a strong job search and avoid some common pitfalls.

“People don’t realize that they need to tailor their resume to each different position, and that doesn’t mean drastically changing content always, it can even be placement of content and using the real estate in the resume a little bit differently,” she said.

But the most important thing people can do is to just keep getting out there making contacts.

“My biggest piece of advice is networking, is really getting out there and talking to people, finding opportunities to either share the fact that they are looking for a job and the types of jobs they are looking for,” she said, adding that its important not to dispair but to keep looking at new options.

“I actually feel that things are looking up, I know it’s bleak in the sense that people have to take other opportunities, they have lost their jobs so they have to think of ways to branch out, so there is that sense of uncertainty, but there are opportunities out there, some really good opportunities, and finding ways to sell your transferrable skills is really important in this market.”

And there is other good news as well with the new federal budget starting to kick in some relief this month. 15 areas of the country hardest hit by the economy will get extended Employment Insurance, including Calgary and Edmonton individually and Alberta as a whole.

As well, people who have worked at a company for a long period of time and haven’t accessed their employment insurance will get 20 additional weeks up to a max of 70.