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By Josh Hall | @Vancan19

the latest stats

Red Deer unemployment up in August to 5.4%

Sep 5, 2025 | 4:20 PM

Red Deer’s unemployment rate rose to 5.4 per cent in August, according to new data released Friday.

That’s up from 4.7 per cent in July, but still down from 7.9 per cent in August 2024.

Looking across the province, unemployment rates looked like this last month:

• Wood Buffalo-Cold Lake: 7.1%
• Banff-Jasper-Rocky Mountain House and Athabasca-Grande Prairie-Peace River: 7.2%
• Edmonton: 8.7%
• Camrose-Drumheller: 5.4%
• Calgary: 7.5%
• Lethbridge-Medicine Hat: 7.3%

Provincially, unemployment sits at 8.4 per cent, up from 7.8 per cent in July.

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In a statement today, Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi chastised Premier Danielle Smith for, in his words, doing nothing to create an environment that creates and sustains jobs.

“Unemployment in Alberta is the second highest in the country and much higher than in neighbouring Saskatchewan and British Columbia. It has grown by nearly three points since Danielle Smith became Premier and is considerably higher than when the NDP left office. In August alone, Alberta lost more than 14,000 jobs,” he said.

Indeed, the Labour Force Statistics report for August shows Alberta lost 14,200 jobs — broken down, it was a staggering loss of 23,700 on the part time side, and a gain of 9,600 on the full time side.

That is starkly different from July when there was a gain of 21,600 part time jobs, and a drop of 38,400 full time jobs, for a net decrease of 16,800.

Nenshi also lamented youth unemployment, in particular.

“Instead, Alberta has become an international laughing stock. Businesses based in Alberta and those elsewhere are more and more reluctant to invest even a dollar here because of the chaos and instability that Danielle Smith causes,” Nenshi added.

“From defunding post-secondary education to banning books, from ending renewable investments to flirting with separatists, nothing this government does builds any confidence. And we need that confidence to create and sustain jobs.”

On Friday, the UCP announced the launch of the new Labour Market Information portal.

“Alberta’s economy is strong, diverse and full of opportunity, and we want to ensure Albertans have every tool available to seize it,” said Joseph Schow, minister of jobs, economy, trade and immigration.

“The new Labour Market Information portal will provide job seekers, students and employers with the data they need to make informed choices that can strengthen their careers, build their businesses and boost our province’s economy.”

The Labour Market Information portal complements the Alberta Economic Dashboard, they added.

“Reliable labour market information is essential for helping Albertans, employers, and policymakers make informed decisions in a rapidly changing economy,” said Mike Holden, vice-president, policy and chief economist, Business Council of Alberta.

“This new portal is a valuable step toward improving the accessibility and quality of labour market insights in our province, and it will support stronger workforce planning and better career choices for Albertans.”

Labour market information is available here.