By Troy Gillard

fewer people are working, however

Red Deer unemployment rate dips below 10%

Jan 8, 2021 | 9:19 AM

The unemployment rate for the Red Deer region slipped to 9.6 per cent in December, according to numbers released Friday by Statistics Canada.

That’s down from 10.4 per cent in November 2020 and three per cent higher than the 6.6 per cent jobless rate reported in December 2019.

Also down, however, is then number of those in the region who are working as StatsCan numbers 1,300 fewer people were employed in December than November.

The provincial unemployment was essentially unchanged last month, going from 11.1 per cent in November to 11.0 per cent in December. Alberta’s jobless rate in December 2019 was 7.0 per cent.

(Alberta Labour/Statistics Canada)

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“While there was a reduction in part-time employment, December’s job numbers demonstrate the resiliency of the Alberta economy with an increase of 30,000 full-time jobs. This happened in the middle of a provincewide shutdown,” said Minister of Jobs, Economy and Innovation Doug Schweitzer. “The pandemic is not over but we are hopeful we will soon see restrictions loosened and jobs recovered as we move forward.”

The national unemployment rate was 8.6 per cent in December as the economy lost 63,000 jobs.

The result ended a streak of monthly job gains that began in May as restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic began to ease.

Statistics Canada notes that total hours worked fell for the first time since the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic in April.

Full-time employment in December rose by 36,500, but there was a loss of 99,000 part-time jobs.

Newfoundland and Labrador recorded the highest rate of unemployment in the country, at 12.3 per cent, followed by Alberta and Prince Edward Island.

(With file from The Canadian Press)