Unemployment in the Red Deer region slipped slightly last month, according to the latest survey by Statistics Canada.
It calculated the local jobless rate at 3.9 per cent for October, down from 4.0 per cent in September and 4.9 per cent in October 2013. For the province as a whole, the seasonally adjusted figure was 4.5 per cent, down 0.1 points from September but unchanged from October 2013. The region with the lowest unemployment rate last month was Camrose-Drumheller, which came in at 2.6 per cent. Lethbridge-Medicine Hat was next at 3.2 per cent, followed by Red Deer, Banff-Jasper-Rocky Mountain House (4.0 per cent), Calgary (4.5 per cent), Wood Buffalo-Cold Lake (4.9 per cent), Athabasca-Grande Prairie (5.0 per cent) and Edmonton (5.8 per cent).
Alberta’s unemployment rate was the second lowest in Canada, behind Saskatchewan’s 3.5 per cent.
The national rate was 6.5 per cent, down 0.3 percentage points from September and the lowest rate since November 2008. Alberta’s labour force grew by 5,000 people during the month, while employment increased by 3,300.
Full-time employment was up by 11,800 positions but part-time employment fell by 8,500 over this period.