OTTAWA: The country’s latest labour numbers have given Albertans yet another reminder of the mounting pressure on their province’s economy.
With a huge wildfire still roaring through oil country near Fort McMurray, Statistics Canada released a new employment report Friday that found Alberta lost more jobs last month than any province — by far.
The labour force survey said Alberta, which has been hit hard by the oil slump, lost 20,800 positions in April. The drop includes 11,300 fewer jobs in the goods-producing industries and 9,500 fewer in services sectors.
The Canadian labour market as a whole was essentially stuck in neutral last month with the national jobless rate unchanged at 7.1 per cent. Overall employment saw a small net loss of 2,100 positions.
Despite the slight rise in Ontario’s jobless rate to 7 per cent from 6.8, provincial Finance Minister Charles Sousa said our unemployment rate continues to be below the national average.
But he acknowledged “there is more work to do” and said “there’s still to many people out of work,” The Star’s Rob Ferguson reports.
Opposition parties said the rise in part-time jobs at the expense of 24,000 lost full-time jobs is not a good sign.
“Part-time jobs don’t pay the rent or the mortgage,” New Democrat MPP Catherine Fife, her party’s finance critic, told reporters at Queen’s Park, noting there are 13,000 fewer jobs for youth than this time last year.
