The Red Deer region continues to have the highest unemployment rate in Alberta, based on the latest information from Statistics Canada.
Jobless figures released on Friday indicated that the local jobless rate last month was 5.3 per cent, up from 5.1 per cent in June and five per cent in July 2012.
That marked the third consecutive month that unemployment in the Red Deer area was higher than in the province’s other seven regions.
The Calgary region had the second highest rate last month, at 4.7 per cent.
The Camrose-Drumheller and Lethbridge-Medicine Hat regions were next at 4.6 per cent, followed by Wood Buffalo-Cold Lake at 4.5 per cent, Edmonton at 4.3 per cent, Athabasca-Grande Prairie at 4.1 per cent, and Banff-Jasper-Rocky Mountain House at 3.7 per cent.
The seasonally adjusted provincial average was 4.6 per cent, unchanged from June but down 0.9 percentage points from July 2012.
Alberta’s unemployment rate was the lowest in Canada, with the national average 7.3 per cent, up 0.1 percentage points from June.
Alberta’s labour force increased by 4,900 from June to July, and employment in the province grew by 5,800.
Over the past year, employment here is up by 45,700, or 2.2 per cent.
That accounted for nearly a third of Canada’s employment growth during this period.