Alberta’s 7.1% unemployment rate highest growth in Canada: StatCan
Posted April 6, 2025 12:39 pm.
Alberta’s unemployment rate saw the highest growth in the country, according to Statistics Canada’s (StatCan) March jobs report published Friday.
The province lost 15,000 jobs in March, bringing the unemployment rate to 7.1 per cent–0.4 per cent higher than February.
Canada’s unemployment rate for March rose to 6.7 per cent, an increase from 6.6 per cent in February. Alberta’s unemployment rate is the fourth-highest across the country.
Most of the jobs lost in Alberta were in manufacturing, with 11,000 fewer jobs. Wholesale and retail trade were down 9,200 from February.
Meanwhile, the loss of 33,000 Canadian jobs in March is the biggest loss since January 2022, according to StatCan.
Some say we are seeing the impact of tariffs, brought in by the current U.S. administration.
“They’re on, they’re off, they’re on, they’re off. That makes business owners a whole lot more reluctant to dive in and invest,” said Stacy Vanchuk Oleksy, the CEO of Money Mentors.
Things are also getting tougher for those who have been out of work for a long time, with StatCan saying more Canadians are staying unemployed longer.
A recruiter tells CityNews that employers are seeing more applicants than ever, and applying online might not be enough.
“You want to go out there and you want to go on LinkedIn and find the hiring managers, connect with them and get them to talk about the job that they have available,” he said.
With files from The Canadian Press
