Calgary’s unemployment rate remains the highest of any major Canadian city, according to new jobless numbers released by Statistics Canada on Friday.
The federal agency reported Calgary’s jobless rate had climbed to 9 per cent last month (compared with 8.6 per cent in July) making it the worst among the 33 metropolitan areas surveyed.
READ MORE: Canada’s unemployment rate rises to 7% despite strong August job growth
It’s the second time in two months the oil and gas hub has received the dubious honour.
The numbers were released on the same day as a job fair held by retailer Kal Tire, which is hoping to hire temporary sales and service technicians to help with winter tire changeovers.
“We’re heading into one of our busiest times of year and we need to recruit a lot of team members,” senior zone manager Mike Butcher said in a news release.
The company is hoping to fill over 100 positions in Calgary and 200 across Alberta. While some are seasonal or part time, the company said it does look for ways to keep some temporary hires on board after the winter rush.
READ MORE: Alberta unemployment rate now higher than Nova Scotia’s
The event is one of several hiring fairs to be held in Calgary in the past few weeks, each drawing big crowds.
Last month, a job fair held at a southwest Calgary seniors home was so busy that organizers had to call police to help manage the crowds.
Just days later, thousands of job seekers lined up outside the Coast Plaza Hotel in anticipation of a job fair for the Calgary International Airport.
Then on Aug. 22, hundreds of people lined up for a chance at part-time work at the Saddledome.
Most recently, the Calgary Zoo had hundreds of job seekers visit their facilities for a hiring fair on Thursday.
Alberta’s jobless rate dropped slightly in August to 8.4 per cent, down 0.2 points from July.
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