UCP AUSTERITY IS AN OXIDIZER FOR THIS
Jeff Labine EDMONTON JOURNAL
© Provided by Edmonton Journal
Canada added 84,000 jobs last month, significantly lower than September's 378,000 gains.
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Edmonton’s unemployment rate was the highest among major Canadian cities in October, the second time the city has reached that milestone in four months.
The city gained roughly 6,800 jobs last month, causing the unemployment rate to drop 0.6 per cent to 12 per cent, Statistics Canada reported Friday in its Labour Force Survey Friday . However, it wasn’t enough to put the city below any other major municipalities. Peterborough, Ont. had the second-highest unemployment rate in the country at 11.7 per cent.
In June, Edmonton had an unemployment rate of 15.7 per cent, the highest for a major Canadian city at the time and on record, but it has dropped over the past four months.
Janet Riopel, president and CEO of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, said in an email the city’s slow employment growth is a major cause for concern.
“We still have the highest unemployment rate of any major city in Canada and our members are telling us they’ve only had a trickle of customers returning,” she said. “We continue to urge Edmontonians to wear a mask and support our job creators by shopping safely at your favourite local retailers and service providers. It’s the best thing you can do to help boost our economic recovery.”
In total, Edmonton has added 60,000 jobs since the summer while Calgary has gained more than 101,000.
Edmonton’s acting chief economist Felicia Mutheardy said the consecutive job gains show the city is still on the path to recovery. She said June had the highest unemployment rate on record.
“In terms of where we saw growth, initially we saw more strength in part-time employment but the latest data in October suggests some increases in terms of full-time employment, which we see as a positive signal,” she said. “I’ve been encouraged by four consecutive months of employment gains. However, there still remains risks that could hold back employment recovery, especially as we’re looking at rising case counts.”
Meanwhile, Alberta added 23,400 jobs in October, continuing a six-month streak, which brought the unemployment rate down a whole percentage point to 10.7 per cent.
Jobs were spread across several sectors, including the health care, social assistance, transportation and warehouse industries.
Wholesale and retail did particularly well, with Alberta contributing 7,100 of Canada’s 15,000 total last month. This was offset somewhat in the information, culture and recreation industry, which lost 7,200 jobs in Alberta.
Although Alberta has consistently been adding jobs over the past few months, the province continues to be the farthest away from its pre-COVID levels.
Calgary, which added 17,000 jobs in October, has the fourth-highest unemployment at 11.3 per cent, down by 1.3 per cent.
NDP Leader Rachel Notley said she was happy to see Albertans are getting back to work.
“I’m pleased to see we’re moving upwards but I’m concerned they (will) undo that progress if this government doesn’t address the very real health effects of COVID-19,” she said. “We have not recovered the vast majority of jobs lost from COVID-19.”
Jobs, Economy and Innovation Minister Doug Schweitzer said in an email statement the numbers show the province is on the road to recovery although more work is still needed. He said the province has recovered 258,400 jobs that were lost during the pandemic, the majority of which were full time.
“Alberta’s recovery plan is a bold vision to create jobs, diversify our economy, and build Alberta to a better future,” Schweitzer said. “In the weeks and months to come, our government will continue our tireless work to ensure that we are creating the best conditions to get Albertans back to work.”
Canada added 84,000 jobs last month, significantly lower than September’s 378,000 gains. The national unemployment rate remained relatively unchanged at 8.9 per cent. The gains in October continue to fill the employment gap caused by the pandemic with hundreds of thousands of jobs yet to be recovered.
Full-time employment made up the majority of the gains in Canada while the number of people working part-time stayed nearly the same from September.
Self-employment also rose by 33,000 or 1.2 per cent in October for the first time since the initial economic shutdown in March. There were some jobs recovered over the spring and summer but the number of self-employed workers remained flat.
jlabine@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/jefflabine
TOPICS FOR YOU
Video player from: YouTube (Privacy Policy, Terms)
Edmonton’s unemployment rate was the highest among major Canadian cities in October, the second time the city has reached that milestone in four months.
The city gained roughly 6,800 jobs last month, causing the unemployment rate to drop 0.6 per cent to 12 per cent, Statistics Canada reported Friday in its Labour Force Survey Friday . However, it wasn’t enough to put the city below any other major municipalities. Peterborough, Ont. had the second-highest unemployment rate in the country at 11.7 per cent.
In June, Edmonton had an unemployment rate of 15.7 per cent, the highest for a major Canadian city at the time and on record, but it has dropped over the past four months.
Janet Riopel, president and CEO of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, said in an email the city’s slow employment growth is a major cause for concern.
“We still have the highest unemployment rate of any major city in Canada and our members are telling us they’ve only had a trickle of customers returning,” she said. “We continue to urge Edmontonians to wear a mask and support our job creators by shopping safely at your favourite local retailers and service providers. It’s the best thing you can do to help boost our economic recovery.”
In total, Edmonton has added 60,000 jobs since the summer while Calgary has gained more than 101,000.
Edmonton’s acting chief economist Felicia Mutheardy said the consecutive job gains show the city is still on the path to recovery. She said June had the highest unemployment rate on record.
“In terms of where we saw growth, initially we saw more strength in part-time employment but the latest data in October suggests some increases in terms of full-time employment, which we see as a positive signal,” she said. “I’ve been encouraged by four consecutive months of employment gains. However, there still remains risks that could hold back employment recovery, especially as we’re looking at rising case counts.”
Meanwhile, Alberta added 23,400 jobs in October, continuing a six-month streak, which brought the unemployment rate down a whole percentage point to 10.7 per cent.
Jobs were spread across several sectors, including the health care, social assistance, transportation and warehouse industries.
Wholesale and retail did particularly well, with Alberta contributing 7,100 of Canada’s 15,000 total last month. This was offset somewhat in the information, culture and recreation industry, which lost 7,200 jobs in Alberta.
Although Alberta has consistently been adding jobs over the past few months, the province continues to be the farthest away from its pre-COVID levels.
Calgary, which added 17,000 jobs in October, has the fourth-highest unemployment at 11.3 per cent, down by 1.3 per cent.
NDP Leader Rachel Notley said she was happy to see Albertans are getting back to work.
“I’m pleased to see we’re moving upwards but I’m concerned they (will) undo that progress if this government doesn’t address the very real health effects of COVID-19,” she said. “We have not recovered the vast majority of jobs lost from COVID-19.”
Jobs, Economy and Innovation Minister Doug Schweitzer said in an email statement the numbers show the province is on the road to recovery although more work is still needed. He said the province has recovered 258,400 jobs that were lost during the pandemic, the majority of which were full time.
“Alberta’s recovery plan is a bold vision to create jobs, diversify our economy, and build Alberta to a better future,” Schweitzer said. “In the weeks and months to come, our government will continue our tireless work to ensure that we are creating the best conditions to get Albertans back to work.”
Canada added 84,000 jobs last month, significantly lower than September’s 378,000 gains. The national unemployment rate remained relatively unchanged at 8.9 per cent. The gains in October continue to fill the employment gap caused by the pandemic with hundreds of thousands of jobs yet to be recovered.
Full-time employment made up the majority of the gains in Canada while the number of people working part-time stayed nearly the same from September.
Self-employment also rose by 33,000 or 1.2 per cent in October for the first time since the initial economic shutdown in March. There were some jobs recovered over the spring and summer but the number of self-employed workers remained flat.
jlabine@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/jefflabine
TOPICS FOR YOU
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