Unemployment in the census area covering Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo and Cold Lake was reported at seven per cent last month in the Wood Buffalo-Cold Lake Census region, the highest it’s been locally since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The last time unemployment was seven per cent in the region was January 2022. Outside of the pandemic, this is the highest local unemployment has been since November 2017 when it was 6.8 per cent.
The data also shows the education sector had the most job losses with 1,100 positions lost in August. About 900 jobs in the field were reported lost in July. Construction followed with 400 job losses in August.
August unemployment for the Wood Buffalo-Cold Lake census region was seven per cent, up from 6.1 per cent in July. Employment dropped to 69.3 per cent from July’s 69.5 per cent. Employment in August 2023 was 69.9 per cent and unemployment was six per cent.
The participation rate—which measures how much of the population is working or actively looking for work—rose to 74.5 per cent in July. The rate was 73.9 per cent in July and 74.3 per cent in August 2023.
The labour force added 900 positions in July from July, and grew by 2,500 positions from August 2023. The region lost 100 full-time jobs and saw no change in part-time jobs in August, and lost 200 full-time jobs and gained 1,600 part-time from August 2023. Monthly gains and losses by industry in July were:
Across Alberta, the population has increased faster than new jobs are being created. Employment in Alberta still added nearly 13,000 jobs in August, but unemployment rose as more people searched for work. Meanwhile, Alberta’s population has continued growing.
Overall unemployment grew to third highest of any province to 7.7 per cent. Newfoundland and Labrador led unemployment at 10.4 per cent, followed by P.E.I. at 8.2 per cent.
At 8.6 per cent, Edmonton has the second-highest unemployment rate of any major Canadian city. Only Windsor, Ont. was higher with nine per cent. Calgary’s unemployment rate fell slightly in August but sat at 7.5 per cent, the fifth highest of any major city in Canada.
Canada’s unemployment rose to 6.6 per cent in August from 6.4 per cent in July. Statistics Canada says outside of the COVID-19 pandemic, this is the highest unemployment rate since May 2017. About 1.5 million Canadians were unemployed in August.
Only 16.7 per cent of unemployed people in July found work last month compared to 23.2 per cent during the same period in 2023. Statistics Canada says this shows it is becoming harder to find work.Get the news and events of Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo in your inbox every Friday morning by signing up for our newsletter.