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Alberta’s unemployment rate dropped to 8.5 per cent in July, a level not seen since before the COVID-19 pandemic started in March 2020.
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The provincial unemployment rate dropped 0.8 per cent from 9.3 per cent in June, according to Statistics Canada’s monthly labour force survey released Friday morning. The province added approximately 20,000 full-time jobs in July while losing about 7,000 part-time ones.
An 8.5 per cent unemployment rate is the lowest the province has seen since the pandemic started in March 2020 when unemployment sat at 8.7 per cent.
Canada’s national unemployment rate fell 0.3 percentage points to 7.5 per cent in July.
The data for the most recent survey was collected during the week of July 11 to 17. On July 1 Alberta lifted most of its COVID-19 restrictions including the ban on indoor social gatherings and most requirements for masking.
In Edmonton the unemployment rate dropped to 8.8 per cent, down from 9.7 per cent in June. Calgary’s unemployment rate grew to 9.8 per cent from 9.2 per cent in June.
More to come
