• Employment declined 11,900 month-over-month in December, the second month in a row, as new health measures were introduced in response to rising COVID-19 cases in the province. Part-time (-42,200 m/m) jobs declined sharply, while full-time (+30,300 m/m) positions increased.
  • Employment in the services sector (-7,000) declined for the second consecutive month amid rising COVID-19 cases and new health measures. It was led by a large decrease in information, culture & recreation (-10,600) and accommodation & food services (-9,300). Meanwhile, hiring in business, building & other support services (+6,600), health care & social assistance (+4,200), and trade (+4,200) moderated the overall employment loss.
  • Goods sector employment (-5,000) fell, driven by a large decline in construction (-10,500). These were partly offset by gains in natural resources industry (+2,900) and manufacturing (+2,700). With the monthly decline, goods sector employment remained 5.4% below February level.
  • The private sector employment (-6,500) declined for the first time since April and stood at 7.0% below February level.
  • Despite lower employment, the unemployment rate remained steady at 11.0%, as the labour force participation rate declined by 0.6 percentage point to 68.9%.
  • With the monthly decline, employment stood nearly 125,200 below the February level. Alberta has now recovered more than 65% (235,700) of the 360,900 jobs lost between February and April.
  • In December, there were 178,300 who were employed but missed more than half of their usual hours during the reference week. This was up 67,600 (+61% y/y) more than a year ago. The number of Albertans who wanted a job but did not look for one increased in December and were 27,700 (+56% y/y) above last year.
  • The average hourly wage in Alberta inched down to $32.84 (-0.3% m/m). Even so, average hourly wage was up 2.7% from February and 4.4% compared to a year ago. 

    Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey
    Additional information about Alberta’s Labour Force Statistics for December 2020 can be found at Monthly Labour Force Statistics.