The federal government released their May 2024 job numbers last week, and job numbers are down in Alberta.
The net decrease to jobs between last month and April was 20,400. This wiped out all of the 10,600 jobs gained in April and the largest job loss since last September, when the province lost 30,900 jobs.
This is also the second largest loss Alberta has seen since April 2020, just one month into the COVID-19 pandemic, when it lost nearly 227,000 jobs.
Support independent journalism
Among workers 25 years of age and older, men and women saw similar job loss numbers between April and May. There were 11,300 fewer men and 11,600 fewer women over 25 at work last month compared to April. Those numbers jump to 12,400 and 8,100, respectively, if you include those who are 15–24 years old.
Statistics Canada provided no data on non-binary or intersex workers.
Here’s how Alberta’s job numbers compare to the other provinces:
| Apr 2024 | May 2024 | Change | % change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ON | 7,995,500 | 8,045,000 | 49,500 | 0.62% |
| MB | 703,300 | 711,100 | 7,800 | 1.11% |
| SK | 598,200 | 603,600 | 5,400 | 0.90% |
| NS | 515,500 | 514,600 | -900 | -0.17% |
| PEI | 92,600 | 91,500 | -1,100 | -1.19% |
| NB | 398,700 | 397,400 | -1,300 | -0.33% |
| NL | 244,100 | 242,000 | -2,100 | -0.86% |
| QC | 4,534,400 | 4,532,300 | -2,100 | -0.05% |
| BC | 2,871,200 | 2,863,300 | -7,900 | -0.28% |
| AB | 2,537,500 | 2,517,100 | -20,400 | -0.80% |
Ontario saw the largest increase in jobs among all the provinces, with nearly 50,000 jobs added in just one month.
Of the 9 provinces who saw job gains last month, Alberta not only saw the largest decrease, it also saw more job losses than all other provinces with losses all added together.
We drop to 2nd to last place, behind Newfoundland and Labrador, when we look at the new jobs as a percentage of April’s job numbers.
Half of the industries in Alberta actually saw an increase in jobs. Of the 13 sectors where jobs increased in May, “manufacturing” had the highest gains: 8,300.
Of 8 remaining sectors reported by Statistics Canada, all of them saw job losses in Alberta:
| Construction | -20,300 |
| Wholesale and retail trade | -7,100 |
| Agriculture | -5,500 |
| Health care and social assistance | -5,300 |
| Utilities | -4,400 |
| Finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing | -3,400 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | -1,300 |
| Educational services | -600 |
Combined, these 3 industries lost 47,900 jobs, 42.3% of which came from just the “construction” sector.
Compared to a year ago, the industry with the highest job gains was “forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas”, increasing by over 22,700 new jobs, a jump of 17.24%. “wholesale and retail trade” saw the largest decrease over the last year, losing 16,000 jobs.
| May 2023 | May 2024 | Change | % change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas | 131,700 | 154,400 | 22,700 | 17.24% |
| Accommodation and food services | 130,400 | 147,800 | 17,400 | 13.34% |
| Business, building and other support services | 69,400 | 86,700 | 17,300 | 24.93% |
| Manufacturing | 142,200 | 157,600 | 15,400 | 10.83% |
| Public administration | 111,900 | 127,300 | 15,400 | 13.76% |
| Other services (except public administration) | 99,600 | 112,500 | 12,900 | 12.95% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 142,200 | 154,200 | 12,000 | 8.44% |
| Information, culture and recreation | 83,300 | 89,800 | 6,500 | 7.80% |
| Health care and social assistance | 320,200 | 326,300 | 6,100 | 1.91% |
| Utilities | 19,800 | 20,500 | 700 | 3.54% |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 242,100 | 237,800 | -4,300 | -1.78% |
| Finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing | 133,800 | 129,000 | -4,800 | -3.59% |
| Educational services | 171,600 | 162,600 | -9,000 | -5.24% |
| Construction | 246,000 | 233,100 | -12,900 | -5.24% |
| Agriculture | 45,500 | 32,300 | -13,200 | -29.01% |
| Wholesale and retail trade | 361,400 | 345,400 | -16,000 | -4.43% |
The report from Statistics Canada also shows that Alberta’s private sector shrunk by 11,500 between April and May; however, there were still 71,400 more private-sector jobs than this time last year. Public sector jobs were down by even more (13,000) over April but lower than May 2023 by only 300. Self employed jobs were up by 4,100 over April but down by 5,300 over May 2023.
Part-time jobs actually rose last month. Alberta gained 12,700 part-time jobs (seasonally adjusted) between April and May, but that means that all the job losses in the province were full-time jobs. In fact, it lost 33,200 full-time jobs between April and May.
There were 24,800 men full-time workers who lost jobs last month. By comparison, the number of women who worked full-time decreased by 8,500 during the same period.
In June 2019, the month before the Job Creation Tax Cut came into effect, there were 1,886,700 people working full-time. Last month, there were 2,034,500. That means that there are 147,800 more full-time jobs than there were before the UCP cut the tax on corporate profits.
While more full-time jobs does seem like a good thing, let’s take a look at how much of a percentage of total jobs are full-time jobs. In June 2019, full-time jobs made up 82.50% of all jobs in the province.
Last month, they were at 80.8%, meaning that in the more than 4.5 years since the UCP government introduced the so-called Job Creation Tax Cut, the percentage of Alberta workers being employed in full-time positions has decreased. There were a handful of times during 2023 when this number passed 82.5%, but it was always only marginally and came right back down the following month.
Even though more people are working full-time now than in June 2019, there are more people working overall. Which means that full-time job growth hasn’t kept up with population growth.
Speaking of full-time jobs, wages for full-time workers in Alberta increased by 35¢, from a median of $33.65 an hour in April.
Part-time wages, on the other hand, remained unchanged at $19.00 per hour, where it’s been for 6 out of the last 7 months. The median wage for both full-time and part-time jobs combined remained at $30.77, where it had been in April.
Alberta had the second highest median full-time hourly wage in May 2024, behind British Columbia.
| BC | $34.46 |
| AB | $34.00 |
| ON | $32.69 |
| QC | $32.00 |
| SK | $31.00 |
| NL | $29.00 |
| MB | $28.39 |
| NS | $28.21 |
| PEI | $27.00 |
| NB | $26.50 |
Alberta hasn’t had a median full-time hourly wage higher than BC at any point in 2024 so far.
As far as the median hourly wage for part-time workers, Alberta was behind BC and Québec, who were both tied for the highest wage.
| QC | $20.00 |
| BC | $20.00 |
| AB | $19.00 |
| ON | $18.00 |
| MB | $17.75 |
| NS | $17.50 |
| NL | $17.00 |
| NB | $17.00 |
| SK | $17.00 |
| PEI | $16.25 |
By industry, Alberta wages increased in 7 of the 16 reported sectors. They remained unchanged in 3, and decreased in all the rest.
| Apr 2024 | May 2024 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | $20.00 | $23.50 | $3.50 |
| Finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing | $33.52 | $35.71 | $2.19 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | $38.46 | $40.00 | $1.54 |
| Health care and social assistance | $29.00 | $30.00 | $1.00 |
| Construction | $35.00 | $35.76 | $0.76 |
| Manufacturing | $32.00 | $32.50 | $0.50 |
| Wholesale and retail trade | $21.72 | $22.00 | $0.28 |
| Accommodation and food services | $17.00 | $17.00 | $0.00 |
| Other services (except public administration) | $25.00 | $25.00 | $0.00 |
| Public administration | $45.00 | $45.00 | $0.00 |
| Educational services | $37.69 | $37.36 | -$0.33 |
| Business, building and other support services | $24.00 | $23.00 | -$1.00 |
| Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas | $49.62 | $48.56 | -$1.06 |
| Transportation and warehousing | $32.00 | $30.52 | -$1.48 |
| Information, culture and recreation | $23.00 | $21.00 | -$2.00 |
| Utilities | $51.53 | $48.08 | -$3.45 |
Alberta saw its unemployment rate increase to 7.2% last month, up from 7.0% in March. This is the highest the unemployment rate has been since November 2021, during the early months of recovery from the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Luckily, Alberta’s labour force decreased last month by 15,300. Otherwise, our unemployment rate would’ve been higher. If you have 20,400 fewer people actually working but 15,300 fewer people available to work than in April, then it’s not surprising that the unemployment rate increased by only two-tenths of a percentage point.
Alberta’s labour force change was the largest decrease in the country. By a long shot. And it was one of only three provinces that had a reduced labour force. Ontario, on the other hand, gained nearly 50,000 workers between April and May
| Apr 2023 | May 2023 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ON | 8,578,800 | 8,627,000 | 48,200 |
| BC | 3,023,000 | 3,032,500 | 9,500 |
| MB | 740,900 | 747,900 | 7,000 |
| SK | 634,100 | 639,700 | 5,600 |
| NB | 428,700 | 429,500 | 800 |
| NS | 549,300 | 549,900 | 600 |
| NL | 268,600 | 268,800 | 200 |
| PEI | 99,400 | 98,600 | -800 |
| QC | 4,777,800 | 4,776,500 | -1,300 |
| AB | 2,728,000 | 2,712,700 | -15,300 |
As far as how it compares with the rest of the country, Alberta’s unemployment rate was the third highest, behind just Newfoundland and Labrador, which was at 9.9%, and New Brunswick, which was at 7.5%.
As far as change in unemployment rate, Alberta had the smallest change in unemployment among those provinces that saw an increase.
Canada saw an increase in employment last month, with jobs across the country rising by 26,700. As I pointed out earlier, Ontario saw the largest share of gained jobs (49,500). Manitoba (7.800) and Saskatchewan (5,400) were the only other provinces that saw an increase to the number of workers employed.
The national unemployment rate rose slightly to 6.2% from 6.1% in April and March. It was also up from 5.3% last May.