By Shaun Penner

Unemployment Up Slightly

Western Alberta unemployment ticks up in December, drops nationally

Jan 10, 2020 | 11:34 AM

Statistics Canada says the national economy added 35,200 jobs in December, fuelled by a gain in full-time jobs, while the unemployment rate ticked lower.

The unemployment rate fell to 5.6 per cent for the final month of the year, compared with a rate of 5.9 per cent in November when the country lost 71,200 jobs.

In the area that includes Grande Prairie, the unemployment rate went the opposite direction, jumping to 5.9 per cent from 5.7 the previous month. Alberta as a whole saw the unemployment rate drop to 7 per cent, down from 7.2 in November of 2019.

The Alberta government says the drop was because of a decrease in the labour force.

“The unemployment rate decreased because the labour force decreased by 7,500 and employment decreased by 1,000 people from the previous month,” the report states.

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The province goes on to say that there was a rather large shift between full-time and part-time employment, opposite to what the rest of the country saw.

“Full-time employment decreased by 23,600 while part-time employment increased by 22,600 over the same period.”

Nationally, the increase in the number of jobs in December came as full-time employment rose by 38,400 jobs. The number of part-time jobs fell by 3,200.

Regionally, Ontario and Quebec led the job gains.

Ontario added 25,100 jobs in December, boosted by gains in construction and public administration. Quebec added 21,100 jobs in the month, helped by gains in the accommodation and food services sector as well as manufacturing.

The Canadian economy added 320,300 jobs for all of 2019 including 282,800 full-time positions and 37,500 part-time jobs.

-With files from the Canadian Press