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By Shaun Penner

As restrictions eased

Unemployment rate for Grande Prairie region drops to 8.9% in June, down from 16.5% in June 2020

Jul 9, 2021 | 9:04 AM

Figures from Statistics Canada show the unemployment rate for the economic region that includes Grande Prairie and the Peace Region declined on a month-over-month basis to 8.9 per cent in June, down from 9.5 per cent in May and 9.8 per cent in April of 2021.

On a year-over-year comparison, the region which includes places like Banff, Jasper and Rocky Mountain House has improved by nearly double since June 2020, when Statistics Canada says the unemployment rate, unadjusted for seasonality, sat at 16.5 per cent following the early onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The month-over-month improvement to the Western Alberta economic region’s unemployment rate put it as the fourth highest in the province.

The lowest unemployment rate in the province goes to the Lethbridge-Medicine Hat region, whose rate fell to 5.7 per cent, Camrose-Drumheller’s rate fell to 6.5 per cent, while Wood Buffalo-Cold Lake’s rate went to 6.6 per cent.

Red Deer’s unemployment rate held 10.2 per cent, the highest in Alberta, while Edmonton’s sat at 9.7 per cent, followed by Calgary at 9.2 per cent for the month of June.

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With that, Alberta’s provincial unemployment rate sits at 9.3 per cent, up from 8.7 per cent in May. That is tied for the third highest rate in the country with New Brunswick, and only behind Prince Edward Island (12.5 per cent) and Newfoundland and Labrador (13 per cent).

Nationally, the unemployment rate fell from 8.2 per cent in May to 7.8 per cent in June.

Statistics Canada says the national economy added 230,700 jobs in June as restrictions put in place to slow the pandemic were rolled back across the country.

The gain came as the number of part-time positions rose 263,900, bringing it basically back to pre-pandemic levels, while the number of full-time jobs fell 33,200.

Statistics Canada says the part-time gains were driven by jumps in jobs in the hard-hit retail and food services sectors and concentrated among youth.

The result for June left the country about 340,000 jobs, or almost two per cent, below pre-pandemic employment levels seen in February 2020.

Statistics Canada says the employment gap is likely closer to 540,000 jobs when factoring in population growth.

(With files from the Canadian Press)