More jobs were created in Canada last month than the population of Red Deer and that sent the unemployment rate down overall, but the numbers tell a different story in Alberta.
Employment in the province increased for the second consecutive month and was up by 19,000 jobs in May.
Despite the increase in employment, the unemployment rate in Alberta rose 0.4 percentage points to 4.8 %.
Stats Canada says the increase is due to more and more people participating in the labour force in the province.
Financial experts say there are two reasons why the unemployment rate can rise.
“You can either have layoffs and actually fewer jobs or you can have more people moving to the province looking for work. And when you look at the size of the labour market in May, that’s actually what’s happening. More people coming to Alberta. They’re here looking for work, that pushes up the unemployment rate but it actually makes it easier for companies who are looking to hire positions, lot more resumes coming in the doors,” said Todd Hirsch from ATB Financial.
Hirsch says Alberta still has a nice, balanced job market.
Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Manitoba also enjoyed an increase in employment and compared to 12 months ago, employment grew across the country by 1.4%.
Nationally, the biggest increases were seen in construction, retail and wholesale trade, business, building and other support services.
Across the country, employment rose by 95,000 jobs in May which pushed the national unemployment rate down to 7.1%.
To view the complete report, see the Labour Force Survey on the Statistics Canada website.
May 2013 Labour Force Survey by CTV Calgary
