CALGARY -- Officials say Calgary's economy is having a slow but steady recovery after the COVID-19 lockdown, but statistics show the city's unemployment rate is still well into the double-digits.
Calgary Economic Development says the rebound for the city's economy began in July and continued through to August, adding 26,900 jobs last month.
"We are seeing a slow but steady recovery from the COVID-19 lockdown as people return to work and return to the office," said Mary Moran, president and CEO of Calgary Economic Development, in a release.
She adds COVID-19 isn't the only problem facing Calgarians looking for work.
"Our economy continues to adjust to a structural change in the energy sector and it is going to take sustained focus from all orders of government to address the job challenges for Calgarians."
The largest increases in jobs were in the accommodation and food services industry (up by 7,300 positions) followed by the information, culture and recreation sector, which added 3,700 positions.
According to Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey, employment significantly increased in every province except Alberta (0.4 per cent), B.C. (0.6 per cent) and Saskatchewan (0.9 per cent).
That increase meant our province added approximately 9,700 jobs.
New Brunswick was the only province that reported job losses. Stats Can says 700 jobs were lost there over the month.
However, Alberta's unemployment rate did drop by a full percentage point to 11.8 per cent due to fewer individuals seeking employment.
Meanwhile, Edmonton's unemployment rate (13.6 per cent) wasn’t much further behind Calgary's even while that city added fewer jobs over the month.
