Calgary jobless rate dips as fewer seek work

A wave of job creation last month knocked the national unemployment rate down to 5.9 per cent — its lowest level in nearly a decade — but the jobless rate in Alberta remains well above the national average.

The Canadian economy churned out 79,500 net new jobs in November, sending the jobless rate down 0.4 percentage points from a month earlier, Statistics Canada said Friday.

Alberta’s unemployment rate fell 0.5 percentage points to 7.3 per cent, its lowest level in almost two years, as 5,400 new positions were added across the province. However, most of those gains were in lowerpaying jobs, the labour force survey showed.

“The bad news is the number of new part-time jobs in November was almost completely offset by a loss of full-time jobs,” ATB Financial said in a note. “This suggests that while there was an overall gain in employment, the new jobs created were not of great quality.”

The jobless rate in Calgary fell to 7.8 per cent, from 8.3 per cent in October, as fewer people looked for work. The city’s unemployment rate three years ago, when the oil price collapse pushed crude below US$70 a barrel, was 4.5 per cent. Benchmark WTI crude climbed 96 cents to US$58.36 a barrel on Friday.

Year-over-year employment growth in Alberta totalled 34,000 full-time jobs, Statistics Canada said.

“Alberta’s job picture has been a mixed bag over the past several months, although the trend continues to be modestly positive,” ATB said. “It all points to the long, slow grind of a continued and welcome economic rebound.”

The strong November jobs numbers marked Canada’s 12th straight month of positive job creation, with Ontario accounting for more than half of the gains.

“It’s hard to argue the Canadian economy is not operating at full employment,” said TD senior economist James Marple.

The November numbers show 29,600 full-time and 49,900 part-time positions were added for the month. The growth was concentrated in the private sector, which added 72,400 jobs, compared with an increase of 10,600 positions in the public sector.

Ontario gained 43,500 jobs, up 0.6 per cent compared to the month before.

It’s hard to argue the Canadian economy is not operating at full employment.