Alberta’s unemployment rate takes a big jump in July

The number of Albertans looking for work has taken a big jump according to the latest numbers from Statistics Canada, released Friday.

In Alberta, 17,000 jobs disappeared in July, compared to June when the province gained 30,000 jobs.

The job losses caused Alberta’s unemployment rate to increase to 7.8 per cent in July — up from 6.8 per cent in June.

The 1 per cent jump in the jobless number was by far the worst in the country.

Nationally, the unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.9 per cent, although Canada lost 41,000 jobs in July.

0:28 Canada shed 41K jobs in July, unemployment held steady at 6.9%

Saskatchewan’s unemployment rate of 5 per cent was the lowest amongst all the provinces.

It was also the lone province to record an increase in employment in July when it gained 3,500 jobs.

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The unemployment rate also increased last month in three of the four largest cities in Alberta.

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In Calgary it went from 7.4 per cent in June to 7.7 per cent in July.

In Edmonton it increased from 7.5 per cent in June to 7.9 per cent in July.

Lethbridge’s unemployment rate jumped from 5.2 per cent in June to 5.7 per cent in July.

In Red Deer the unemployment rate declined slightly from 5.5 per cent in June to 5.4 per cent in July.

–with files from The Canadian Press.

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