By Sheldon Spackman

Highest Rate In The Province

Red Deer sees rise in unemployment rate in May

Jun 10, 2022 | 12:10 PM

The Red Deer Region saw a significant jump in its unemployment rate last month.

According to Statistics Canada, the Red Deer region’s jobless rate in May was 7.4 per cent, the highest rate in the province. That’s up from 6.7 per cent in April, but still down from 10.2 per cent in May of last year.

That compares with an unemployment rate of 6.3 per cent in both Edmonton and Calgary last month, 5.7 per cent in Wood Buffalo-Cold Lake, 5.0 per cent in Lethbridge-Medicine Hat, 4.7 per cent in Banff-Jasper-Rocky Mountain House and Athabasca-Grande Prairie-Peace River, and 4.6 per cent in the Camrose-Drumheller region.

Alberta’s unemployment rate came in at 5.3 per cent in May, down from 5.9 per cent in April and 8.4 per cent in May 2021.

The national unemployment rate was 8.0 per cent last month, way up from 5.2 per cent in April and 5.1 per cent in May of last year.

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Scott Robinson, CEO, Red Deer and District Chamber of Commerce, says it’s hard to pin point the cause for the rise in the local unemployment rate last month.

“We’ve got lots of businesses looking for people, so it’s not like there isn’t opportunities,” he explains. “If you talk to the employment people in the city, they’re saying, ‘Hey, we’ve got lots of companies coming to us’, so it’s almost ike we’ve got to get those people that want to work, connected to the job opportunities that are there.”

Robinson adds, however, that the recent uptick in the local jobless rate at this point, shouldn’t be cause for concern just yet.

“Give us a couple of months, we’ll see how it goes,” says Robinson. “It’s a snapshot in time. It’s not maybe what we want to see, but at the same time, I think longer-term we’re pretty confident our economy in central Alberta is going to drive a lot of opportunity for employment.”

Minister of Jobs, Economy and Innovation, Doug Schweitzer, issued the following statement about the May 2022 Labour Force Survey:

“May’s job numbers reflect another month of strong economic momentum. We are diversifying and growing our economy while creating opportunities for Albertans.

“It is very encouraging to see that Alberta’s unemployment rate continues to drop significantly, now at 5.3 per cent. The increase of an additional 60,600 full-time jobs in May is incredibly good news for Albertans. Alberta’s Recovery Plan is working and our employment numbers continue to improve to levels not seen in more than seven years.

“Alberta is once again the economic engine of Canada. In May, 69 per cent of the country’s total job growth was seen in our province.

“The work we are doing to foster an environment where businesses and entrepreneurs thrive has created the right conditions for more Albertans to become job creators. We continue to see more businesses being started, with business incorporations reaching the highest levels ever during the first five months of 2022.

“Our focused efforts on jobs through Alberta Jobs Now and Alberta at Work are making a significant impact. Alberta Jobs Now focuses on addressing long-term unemployment and we have seen a significant decline in the number of people unemployed for more than 27 weeks. Our work to address long-term unemployment continues and the Alberta Jobs Now program is accepting applications for its third and final intake.

“Alberta is back. More and more Canadians are recognizing this and are moving to our province at numbers not seen in seven or eight years. When paired with our nation-leading participation and employment rates, it is especially impressive that our unemployment continues to decline.

“Alberta’s economy continues to make incredible progress and I am confident that it will only get stronger in the years ahead. Alberta’s decade is only just beginning.”