A new report says Alberta is taking the biggest hit in the country in terms of job numbers because of the global slump in oil prices.
A new Statistics Canada jobs report shows Alberta’s 5.3 percent unemployment rate is at its highest level since 2011.
The report shows that 14,000 people lost their jobs in February and half of them work in the oil sector.
Economists are not surprised by the negative effects of the plunge in oil prices.
Todd Hirsch with ATB Financial says the job numbers are now reflecting what is happening in the province.
“It does mean we are moving into a slowdown, 7000 jobs lost in the energy sector, about 7000 in the professional services, the engineers and the geologists all those things central to oil and gas so I don’t think there’s any question, I mean the energy sector is seeing the brunt of this right now,” said Hirsch.
Other job sectors are also feeling the effects.
Carpenter, Daniel Wagner has been actively looking for a new contact for months.
He has a decade of experience but the jobs just aren't out there and he says he has never struggled like this before.
“It’s as bad as it’s been ever since I’ve been in construction. Normally I phone or apply for one job and I’m working right away and lately it’s hard to get people to respond even when you show them awesome pictures,” said Wagner.
Hirsch says Alberta can expect the trend to continue for the first half of 2015 and that prices will likely start to recover in the second half of the year.
(With files from Ina Sidhu)
