New numbers from Statistics Canada show many Albertans are wishing for just one thing this Christmas: a place to work.
The jobless rate in the province climbed a full half a point in November to 9.0 per cent, which is the highest it’s been since 1994.
The federal agency says the province lost 13,000 jobs in November, while the number of people looking for work increased by 11,000.
StatsCan says unemployment increased by 52,000, or 30.6 per cent, over November of last year as our province continues to be battered by depressed oil prices.
Meanwhile, Calgary, the heart of the financial sector of the oil and gas industry, edged up to the highest rate in the country among large centres at 10.3 per cent.
ATB Financial’s Chief Economist Todd Hirsch says it’s not just job losses pushing up the rate, but also job seekers.
“Either people are moving to the city or more likely what’s happening (is) over the last six months, more people are drawn back into the workforce,” he said.
He says the numbers can be viewed as both bad and good, suggesting confidence is returning to the workforce which is good, but some families have no one working right now, which is bad.
“If one of those adults has lost his or her job, the other adult might be drawn back into the workforce, just to try to find something, some work even if it’s part-time work,” explained Hirsch.
Hirsch believes the rate will continue to climb into the New Year, peeking in late spring or early summer, at which time the jobless rate should level off or start to come back down.
With files from the Canadian Press.
