Calgary’s unemployment rate down in March, still highest in Canada

Calgary’s unemployment rate declined once again in March but remained the highest in the country, according to Statistics Canada.

New numbers released on Friday show the jobless rate in the oil and gas hub dropped a tenth of a percentage point to 9.3 per cent last month, the worst among the 33 metropolitan areas surveyed.

March marked Calgary’s fourth straight month where the jobless rate dropped, but ninth consecutive month with Canada’s highest unemployment rate.

A look at Calgary’s unemployment rate history:

 July 2016 – 8.6 per cent (Calgary’s unemployment rate becomes worst in Canada)

 August 2016 – 9 per cent

 September 2016 – 9.5 per cent

 October 2016 – 10.2 per cent

 November 2016 – 10.3 per cent

 December 2016 – 10.2 per cent

 January 2017 – 9.8 per cent

 February 2017 – 9.4 per cent

  March 2017 – 9.3 per cent

In Alberta, the province-wide unemployment rate was little changed in March, sitting at 8.4 percent compared to 8.3 per cent the month before.

The national unemployment rate was also little changed, climbing ever-so-slightly to 6.7 per cent in March from 6.6 per cent in February.