Alberta's unemployment rate ticks downward to 8.3%, Canada ties 10-year record
Province gained 19K full-time jobs, while part-time positions fell by 18K StatsCan says
Alberta's unemployment rate continues to decline with the addition of 19,000 full time jobs, according to numbers released Friday by Statistics Canada.
"In February the unemployment rate fell by 0.5 percentage points to 8.3 per cent, as fewer people searched for work," read the release.
Gains in full-time work were offset by 18,000 losses in past-time employment.
The jobless rate in the province hit nine per cent in November 2016, the highest since 1994.
Despite a relatively stable job market in recent months, Alberta's unemployment rate is the third highest in the country behind Newfoundland (14.2 per cent) and New Brunswick (8.9 per cent).
Canada turns corner
Across the nation, Canada's economy pushed the unemployment rate down to 6.6 per cent.
An increase of more than 105,000 full-time jobs offset a decline of nearly 90,000 part-time jobs. In the past 12 months, 288,000 jobs have been added.
The current national jobless rate is tied with its lowest level in almost a decade.
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