Alberta’s job creation engine expected to slow
Posted Dec 2, 2011 11:45 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Alberta now has the lowest unemployment rate in the country, running at an even 5 per cent.
The drop runs counter to what’s happening across the rest of Canada, where jobless numbers increased in November.
The national jobless rate rose a touch to 7.4 per cent last month, the fifth straight month it has gone up.
In the past year, Alberta’s economy has created 100 thousand jobs.
A.T.B Financial Senior Economist Todd Hirsch calls that not only impressive but enviable.
However Hirsch tells 660News, he expects fewer jobs will be created in 2012.
Despite the slowdown, Hirsch says Alberta’s labour market should remain
balanced.
He also doesn’t think Wildrose country will see a repeat of the labour shortages it experience back in the boom, although some industries might struggle trying to fill positions.
In light of Friday’s jobs report, the Canadian Labour Congress is calling on Ottawa to increase income security for unemployed workers.
The CLC’s Chris Roberts says with the economic conditions expected to worsen in the coming months, the federal government needs to help those who have lost their jobs.
The CLC is urging the federal finance minister to inject more cash into the EI system and extend benefits.
