Calgary’s unemployment remained steady as other major cities rise

The city’s labour market remained steady in April, while unemployment rose in most major Canadian cities, according to Calgary Economic Development (CED).

According to Statistics Canada data reviewed by the CED, the city’s full-time employment rose by 11,800 jobs between March and April, while part-time employment rose by 6,900.

Calgary’s labour force also expanded over the month, increasing by 14,900 people to reach over 1.1 million, which is a 1.3 per cent month-over-month gain.

Despite the higher number of people entering the job market, the city’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.7 per cent from the previous month.

Among major Canadian cities that make up VECTOM (Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa-Gatineau, and Montreal), Calgary’s unemployment rate didn’t increase in April.

The lack of change led Calgary’s unemployment ranking to improve after having the second-highest unemployment rate among major cities in March. It was now the fourth-highest in April.

Unemployment in both Montreal and Edmonton increased to 7.1 per cent, while Toronto maintained the highest unemployment rate among major cities at 8.2 per cent — a 0.1 point increase. Ottawa-Gatineau maintained the lowest rate among the VECTOM cities at 6.3 per cent after a slight rise. Canada’s unemployment rate, on the other hand, rose to 6.9 per cent.

Outside these major cities, Saskatoon and Winnipeg were significantly lower than Calgary at 5.6 and 5.9 per cent, respectively.

Calgary also led major Canadian cities in its employment rate. It increased to 67.2 per cent, the highest among all VECTOM cities.

While Ottawa-Gatineau and Toronto also recorded employment rate gains (62.7 and 61.2 per cent, respectively), Vancouver, Edmonton and Montreal all saw month-over-month declines. Canada’s employment rate dropped slightly to 60.5 per cent.

“April’s numbers show Calgary’s job market is holding steady, with more jobs added and more people looking for work, while still maintaining the highest employment rate among major Canadian cities,” said CED CEO Brad Parry.

“Calgary is demonstrating resilience as people continue to move here for opportunity and employers continue hire. The path ahead will be shaped by ongoing global economic uncertainty, oil price volatility and shifting trade conditions – making it critical that job growth keeps pace with a steadily expanding workforce.”

Health care and social assistance were major contributors to the city’s employment growth, adding 28,500 jobs year-over-year, the largest increase among all sectors.

Other yearly gains were recorded in business, building and other support services, and manufacturing.

Employment gains month-over-month were led by wholesale and retail trade, followed by transportation and warehousing, and construction.

However, several sectors saw year-over-year drops in employment, including construction, wholesale and retail trade, and educational services.

On the month-over-month front, the losses were smaller. Finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing had the largest loss, followed by agriculture, and then forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, and oil and gas.

CED says uncertainty remains present nationally, with oil price volatility and geopolitical uncertainty continuing for the foreseeable future, which will “continue to impact our employment and labour conditions through 2026.”

More information on the report can be found here.