Alberta wages lead, but jobless rate hits eight-year high
Premier Danielle Smith promoted Alberta's strong earnings and workforce but new data reveals the province's unemployment rate has hit an eight-year high, excluding the COVID pandemic.
Premier Danielle Smith promoted Alberta's strong earnings and workforce but new data reveals the province's unemployment rate has hit an eight-year high, excluding the COVID pandemic.
“Hard work pays off in Alberta. We lead the country in average earnings amongst all provinces, paired with low taxes and relatively affordable homes,” Smith wrote in a post to X on Tuesday. “The Alberta Advantage is alive, and our government will keep driving down everyday costs so families keep more of every paycheque”.
Data released by Smith showed average weekly earnings in Alberta for June were $1,369.72, the highest in the country, compared to the national average of $1,302.11. Prince Edward Island had the lowest earnings at $1,144.78.
While data released by Statistics Canada showed that Alberta had an unemployment rate of 8.4 per cent in August, above the national average of 7.1 per cent, Smith took it a step further.
She showed that while Calgary led the entire country in workforce participation rate at 70.1 per cent, Edmonton followed closely behind in third place with a rate of 69.2 per cent. The two cities had unemployment rates of 7.7 per cent and 8.5 per cent, respectively.
The workforce participation rate measures the working-age population (15 or older) that is in the labour force, either working or actively searching for work.
Therefore, even those laid off and claiming employment insurance (which is applicable to many tradesmen) would be added to this percentage, as you cannot claim employment insurance unless you claim to actively be searching for work.
“With Calgary leading the country in workforce participation rate, and Edmonton close behind, it is clear that Alberta is at the forefront of job creation. We’d be able to create even more jobs if Ottawa would repeal its investment-killing policies that are holding back the energy sector,” said Smith.
Albertans lost 14,000 jobs in August, the second consecutive month of decreases, according to August’s Labour Force Survey. The 8.4% unemployment rate is the highest since August 2017, excluding 2020 and 2021 due to pandemic-related job losses. Ontario and British Columbia also saw large job losses, shedding 26,000 and 16,000 positions, respectively.
Nationwide, 66,000 jobs were lost, following a 41,000 loss in July.
A recent analysis from CIBC warned that Canadian youth unemployment is hitting recession levels. The report highlighted that non-permanent residents accounted for a large portion of labour force growth between 2022 and 2024.
Smith recently called youth unemployment “alarming” while being questioned at an Alberta Next Panel.
She cited unprecedented federal immigration levels as a factor, with 450,000 newcomers arriving in Alberta over the past three years — triple the "normal" rate of 50,000 a year she hoped to restore.
“You’re seeing the pressure, higher housing prices, harder to rent, crowded schools, difficulty getting a doctor. These are why people are connecting those two things,” she said.
Nationwide, the youth employment rate is the lowest it’s been since 1998, excluding pandemic years.