'Alberta’s economic recovery has momentum': Unemployment rate falls for second straight month

Pedestrians wearing masks walk through an empty downtown Calgary, Alta., Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020, after new provincial restrictions were announced amid a worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)

Alberta's unemployment rate continued its downward trend last month while both Calgary and Edmonton's jobless rates remained largely unchanged. 

According to Statistics Canada’s January 2022 Labour Force Survey, Alberta had a jobless rate of 7.2 per cent, down three-tenths of a percentage point from December 2021 when it sat at 7.5 per cent.

The survey, released on Friday, reflects labour market conditions the week of Jan. 10 to 16.

During that time, employment in Alberta increased for the first time since October (+21,000; +1.0%), all in part-time work.

"There were more people working in construction, while employment held steady in natural resources and fell in accommodation and food services," the survey noted.

In a statement issued on Friday, Minister of Jobs, Economy and Innovation Doug Schweitzer said the job numbers show that, despite COVID-19’s impact, Alberta’s economy continues to push forward.

"Once again, Alberta leads the country with an employment rate of 64.5 per cent and a declining unemployment rate," Schweitzer said.

"Alberta is one of only five provinces to see such growth and one of only four provinces to see a drop in its unemployment rate.

"Job numbers fluctuate month to month but, as demonstrated over the past number of months, Alberta’s economic recovery has momentum. I am confident we will continue to see growth in our province as word spreads that Alberta is a business and entrepreneur-friendly jurisdiction with a high quality of life and low cost of living."

In Edmonton, the unemployment rate fell one tenth of a per cent to sit at 6.6 per cent compared to 6.5 per cent in December.

Calgary's unemployment rate also dropped just one-tenth of a percentage point to 8.5 per cent.

In January, Calgary's jobless rate was the second-highest among the 34 metropolitan areas surveyed after Peterborough, Ont. (8.7 per cent).

"Overall, employment and labour force participation continues to change in relative lock-step as we’ve seen for the past couple of months, including our time dealing with the rise of the Omicron variant of COVID-19," said Dexter Lam from Calgary Economic Development in a news release.

"As we approach two years of living with COVID-19, Calgary has more people working and intent on working than at the start of the pandemic," Lam added. "Jobs typically related to oil and gas have remained essentially unchanged over the last six months as oil prices have seen strong recoveries."

Canada's national unemployment rate was 6.5 per cent in January compared with 6.0 per cent in December.