By Troy Gillard

unemployment rate down again, but...

January numbers show fewer people working in Red Deer than December

Feb 6, 2021 | 1:48 PM

The local unemployment rate was down again last month, but so too was the number of people in the region that are working.

Friday’s latest numbers from Statistics Canada show the unemployment rate in the Red Deer region dipped to 9.1 per cent in January from 9.8 in December.

However, the data also shows there are 1,400 fewer people in the region that are working then there were in December, and 8,100 fewer compared to January 2020.

The unemployment rate in the Red Deer region in January 2020 was 7.9 per cent.

Nationally, Statistics Canada says the economy lost almost 213,000 jobs in January as employment fell to the lowest level since August last year, wiping out the gains made in the fall.

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The unemployment rate rose 0.6 percentage points to 9.4 per cent, the highest rate since August.

Financial data firm Refinitiv says the average economist estimate was for a loss of 47,500 jobs in January and an unemployment rate of 8.9 per cent.

The losses were almost entirely concentrated in Ontario and Quebec, and mostly in the retail sector as lockdowns and restrictions closed many businesses.

Employment declines were heavy in the services sector and part-time work fuelling the largest monthly decline since April when some two million jobs were lost.

Statistics Canada says the losses in January now put the country 858,300 jobs, or 4.5 per cent, short of employment levels from last February just before the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Provincially, a surge in part-time jobs pushed Alberta’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate down slightly, going from 11.1 per cent in December to 10.7 per cent in January.

There were 262,700 Albertans actively looking for work but unable to find it in January, according to ATB Economics.

The total number of jobs in Alberta increased by 20,800 (1.0 per cent) in January. Full-time employment edged down by an estimated 300 positions (0.02 per cent) while part-time jobs increased by 21,100 (5.4 per cent).

With new public health measures in place in Alberta as of December 13 requiring all restaurants, pubs, bars, lounges and cafes to shut down in-person service, accommodation and food services sector employment fell by 17.3 per cent (17,900) in January compared to December.

Meanwhile, decent gains occurred in construction (up 7.2 per cent or 15,300 jobs), business, building and other support services (up 10.4 per cent or 6,900 jobs) and educational services (up 5.8 per cent or 8,800 jobs).

(With file from The Canadian Press and ATB Economics)