Edmonton's jobless rate jumps to 6.5%, up 1% from a year ago
CBC News | Posted: February 5, 2016 6:46 PM | Last Updated: February 5, 2016
City's unemployment rate still lower than Calgary, Alberta or national average
Edmonton's January jobless rate has climbed to 6.5 per cent, up from 5.5 per cent in January 2015, according to a Statistics Canada monthly labour force survey released Friday.
A total of 51,000 people in Edmonton were looking for work in January, up from 35,000 last January.
The city's labour force has increased by 44,000 people since last January. Out of that total, 27,000 people have found jobs, while 17,000 are still searching for work.
The good news for Edmonton is that the city's unemployment rate is below the rate in Calgary, in Alberta and in the rest of the country, the survey said.
Calgary sits at 7.7 per cent, while Alberta's unemployment rate is 7.4 per cent.
Alberta statistics show that 10,000 full-time jobs were lost in the last year.
As of January 2016 there were 73,000 fewer people working full-time jobs in Alberta compared to January 2015.
Provincewide, there are 38,000 more people working part time now than there were in January last year.
The national unemployment rate is 7.2 per cent.
Overall in Edmonton in the past year, there has been no job growth in the goods producing sector, which includes natural resources, construction, manufacturing, agriculture and utilities.
However, the service industry has added 30,000 new jobs in Edmonton. Service includes jobs in the wholesale/retail trade sector, and health care and social assistance industries.