(Dreamstime)

By Sheldon Spackman

6.9 per cent

Red Deer unemployment rate rises in November

Dec 6, 2024 | 12:17 PM

The Red Deer region saw a rise in its unemployment rate last month, increasing from 6.6 per cent in October to 6.9 per cent in November.

Still well below, however, a jobless rate of 7.9 per cent in November 2023.

Edmonton had the highest unemployment rate in the province last month, coming in at 7.4 per cent, while Calgary was right behind at 7.3 per cent.

Elsewhere, Lethbridge-Medicine Hat recorded a jobless rate of 6.2 per cent, while Wood Buffalo-Cold Lake was 5.8 per cent.

Camrose-Drumheller’s unemployment rate was 4.3 per cent in November, while the Banff-Jasper-Rocky Mountain House and Athabasca-Grande Prairie-Peace River area saw a jobless rate of 4.0 per cent last month.

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Alberta’s unemployment rate, meantime, came in at 6.8 per cent in November, down from 7.2 per cent in October but still well up from 5.3 per cent in November last year.

The national jobless rate was 6.1 per cent last month, down from 6.5 per cent in October but still up from 5.3 per cent in November 2023.

According to ATB Economics, employment rose a solid 50,500 (+0.2%) in Canada last month following a tepid 14,500 (+0.1%) gain in October, driven by gains in Alberta and Quebec. The financial institution says the job gains were highly concentrated in the public sector (+45K) and entirely comprised of new full-time positions (+54.2K).

Meantime, Rhiannon Hoyle, Shadow Minister for Jobs, Economy and Trade, issued the following statement in response to the November 2024 Labour Force Survey by saying, “It’s disappointing that this province continues to be a leader in unemployment across the country.

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