The latest data from Statistics Canada shows the Calgary Region’s labour market remained relatively stable in December, with a 0.1 per cent increase in the unemployment rate from November to 8.2 per cent.
“Calgary’s labour force and employment increased almost in lock-step in December,” said Dexter Lam, Senior Manager, Talent, Calgary Economic Development. “Growth in the labour force participation slightly outpaced employment, resulting in the 0.1 percentage increase in unemployment.”
Employment in the region increased by 800 jobs in December to 833,800, up from 833,000 in November. Calgary’s labour force also increased last month, with 900 people joining the workforce.
“The city’s labour market remained relatively unchanged in the last quarter of 2021,” said Lam. “While pandemic-related uncertainties continue to affect Calgary’s recovery trajectory, the region maintained stable labour force participation year-over-year with the addition of just over 20,000 jobs.”
Alberta saw a growth of 11,100 jobs in December, driving the unemployment rate down to 7.3 per cent. The national jobless rate decreased by 0.1 per cent to 5.9 per cent, compared with 6.0 per cent in November.
In Calgary, the Wholesale & Retail Trade and Transportation & Warehousing sectors saw the strongest gains last month, with 4,800 and 1,900 jobs added, respectively. Manufacturing experienced the most losses last month, with 3,800 jobs lost in December.
“Despite concerns about global and national supply-chain disruptions, job growth related to the movement, storage and retail of goods was strong in Calgary through the last quarter of 2021,” said Lam. “Front-line services such as accommodation and food continue to be hard hit by the pandemic with significantly less people working in these sectors than at the start of the year.”
The Labour Force Survey Results reflect conditions of the weeks of Dec. 5 to Dec. 11, 2021. For more information on the economic strategy, visit Calgary in the New Economy.