Red Deer’s unemployment rate dropped 0.4 percentage points in the month of May.
According to the latest census information released by Statistics Canada, the unemployment rate in May, unadjusted for seasonality, was 10.2 per cent, compared to 10.6 per cent in April.
In May, full-time employment in the city increased by 3,500 to 83,400, while part-time employment decreased by 800 to 25,000. The city’s participation rate, which is the number of labour force participants expressed as a percentage of the population 15 years of age and over, was 70.3 per cent in May, a 1.4 percentage-point increase from the month prior.
Alberta’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in May was 8.7 per cent, which is a 0.6 percentage-point decrease from the month prior and a 6.8 percentage point decrease from May 2020.
The province’s unemployment rate decreased because the labour force decreased by 8,000 and employment decreased by around 1,000 people from the previous month, Alberta Labour Force explained in its May 2021 highlights.
“Full-time employment decreased by 700 while part-time employment decreased by 400 over the same period,” said the Alberta Labour Force.
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— Red Deer unemployment rate rises to 10.6 per cent in April
Between May 2020 and May 2021, employment increased by 262,600. The number of unemployed Albertans decreased by 146,400 over the same period, according the Alberta Labour Force.
“Year-over-year, employment gains were led by the private sector at 238,500. Public sector employment increased by 49,400, while self-employment decreased by 25,300 over the same period.”
In May 2021, the industries that had the most employment decreases from the previous month were public administration (11,400), accommodation and food services (5,100), and utilities (5,000). Industries that had the most employment gains were forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas (7,700), construction (6,900), and finance, insurance, real estate and leasing (3,500).
SEE ALSO
— Economy lost 68,000 jobs in May, unemployment rate 8.2%, Statistics Canada says
Alberta’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was the fifth lowest in Canada this past month, behind Saskatchewan (6.3 per cent), Quebec (6.6 per cent), British Columbia (seven per cent) and Manitoba (7.2 per cent). The national rate was 8.2 per cent, which is 0.1 percentage points higher than the previous month.
Nationally, employment in natural resources rose by 8,600, almost entirely because of gains in Alberta, Statistics Canada said, adding following increases throughout most of the fall and winter, global oil prices have remained near pre-pandemic levels in recent months.
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