Red Deer region’s unemployment rate rises in November

Alberta Labour Force Statistics for November 2023 also show, however, the provincial labour force grew from 2,639,100 in October to 2,653,500 in November.

Meantime, although the number of unemployed workers rose from 152,100 in October to 157,600 in November, the number of those employed also increased from 2,487,000 in October to 2,495,900 in November.

The national jobless rate was 5.8 per cent last month, up from 5.7 per cent in October and 5.1 per cent the same month last year.

According to ATB Financial, all the monthly gains were in full-time employment (+23,600) and mostly in the private sector (+8,100).

ATB also says the jump in construction (15,700) was notable since it has one of the highest job vacancy rates and labour shortages which have held back activity in the sector. The improvement is said to coincide with a sizable uptick in housing starts in the second half of the year.

Alberta’s Minister of Jobs, Economy and Trade, Matt Jones, issued the following statement in response to the numbers:

“Employment in Alberta is on the rise yet again with nearly 8,900 more people working in the province in November, driven by full-time job growth. Most of these gains came from the goods-producing sectors.

“As more people continue to answer Alberta’s call and move to our province, the labour force grew at a greater rate than employment this month with 14,400 more workers. And it is no wonder, because Alberta continues to drive job growth in the country. Over the last 12 months, employment in our province has grown by 4.1 per cent, well above the national average of 2.5 per cent.

“Thanks to our government’s investment-friendly policies, job creators continue to feel confident about setting up shop or expanding their operations in Alberta. Earlier this week, multinational company Dow Chemical announced it has chosen Fort Saskatchewan as the location for its Path2Zero project – the world’s first net-zero Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions integrated ethylene cracker and derivatives site. This is one of the largest private sector investments in the province’s history and will create 6,000 jobs during peak construction and about 400 to 500 full-time jobs when fully operational.

“Our province’s economy has momentum as it continues to create good-paying jobs, attract world-class investment and generate quality opportunities for Albertans.”

Nathan Ip, Alberta NDP Critic for Jobs, Economy & Trade, issued the following statement in response to the November job numbers from Statistics Canada:

“Even with a net increase in jobs last month, unemployment rates continue to climb in the province and have remained higher than the national average throughout Danielle Smith’s time as premier.

“Yesterday, the UCP presented a fiscal update that was built on the hope that Alberta will continue to see high oil prices. It does not offer everyday Albertans struggling to find good-paying jobs or pay their bills any relief.

“In Calgary alone, there are 115,000 people at high risk for homelessness and we just saw nearly 10,000 people lose their job in the city.

“With climbing unemployment and inflation continuing to outpace wages, the UCP are ignoring these issues by creating massive amounts of economic uncertainty by banning renewable energy development and planning to gamble away retirement security.

“The UCP needs to come up with an actual plan to help Albertans find good-paying jobs, and pay their bills.”

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by Sheldon Spackman

Red Deer region’s unemployment rate rises in November

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