Alberta's jobless rate shrinks slightly in May

Statistics Canada released its May 2023 Labour Force Survey on Friday, which showed Alberta's unemployment rate dipping to 5.7 per cent, down from 5.9 per cent in April.

Statistics Canada noted that both Alberta and British Columbia experienced wildfires during the week examined for the survey – May 14 to 20 – and both saw little overall employment change.

Calgary's unemployment rate was largely unchanged in May, sitting at 6.3 per cent, down just one-tenth of a percentage point from the month prior.

Calgary was, along with Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo, Ont., tied for the third-highest jobless rate in Canada among the 36 metropolitan areas surveyed. Only Windsor, Ont. (6.5 per cent) and Peterborough, Ont. (7.1 per cent) were higher.

Edmonton's jobless rate was largely unchanged, climbing to six per cent from 5.7 per cent in April.

Lethbridge, meanwhile, climbed four-tenths of a percentage point to 5.3 per cent.

Nationally, the unemployment rate ticked higher to 5.2 per cent in May, marking the first increase since August 2022.

Meanwhile, overall employment was little changed as the economy lost a modest 17,000 jobs.