This month is shaping up to be a dismal Christmas for many Albertans
Despite some promising signs of recovery earlier this year, the Albertan economy continues to struggle with the impact of oil sector weakness, with the province losing 18,000 jobs last month alone.
In an interview with the Calgary Sun, University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe said that this was the worst monthly drop in employment in five years, as well as the second-largest monthly decline ever registered in the province.
Tombe also noted that Alberta has lost approximately 60,000 jobs in the last five years. The province’s unemployment rate is now at 7.2%.
“Over the past year, employment has remained roughly flat but population kept growing,” Tombe stated.
“It’s incredibly unfortunate to see so many Albertans lose their jobs before the holidays,” according to Deron Bilous, NDP critic for Economic Development, Trade and Tourism. “The UCP’s risky experiment to hand over billions of dollars to corporations has failed Albertans. All we’ve seen are companies taking their corporate tax gift and creating jobs in Wisconsin.”
The Canadian economy suffered the loss of 71,200 jobs last month, far exceeding the decline of 1,800 in October. This was the largest labour market decline since 2009, StatsCan stated.
“Canada’s jobs report is disappointing, showing job losses for the second month in a row,” ZipRecruiter labour economist Julia Pollak told BNN Bloomberg.
