Latest Labour Market Notes
The Labour Market Notes documents contain analysis of the latest labour market data for Alberta, released the same day as Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey.
Download: Labour Market Notes: Labour market softening (March 2019)
Published March 8, 2019 (PDF, 890 KB)
Alberta labour market indicators
| Indicator | Latest* |
|---|---|
| Employment | 2,330,200 |
| Month-over-month change | 3,800 |
| Year-over-year % change | 0.6% |
| Alberta unemployment rate (UR) | 7.3% |
| Edmonton UR** | 7.0% |
| Calgary UR** | 7.6% |
| Participation rate | 71.8% |
| Average Weekly Earnings (AWE) | $1,148.45 |
| Year-over-year % change | 0.0% |
| Average hourly wage | $31.28 |
| Year-over-year % change | 1.3% |
| Job vacancy rate*** | 1.7% |
* All data is from the February 2019 Labour Force Survey, except AWE which is the December 2018 Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours, and the Job Vacancy Rate is for November 2018.
** This indicator is calculated as a 3‑month moving average and is seasonally adjusted.
*** This indicator is calculated as a 3‑month moving average and is not seasonally adjusted.
Labour InSight
The “Labour InSight” section covers a labour market topic in more detail.
Average weekly earnings (AWE) continued to improve in 2018, but the pace of growth moderated. This Labour InSight looks at the growth in earnings in 2018 as reported in the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours.
Download: Labour InSight: Slower earnings growth in second half of 2018 (March 2019)
Published March 8, 2019 (PDF, 890 KB)
Archive
2019
- February 2019: Weak start to 2019 amid pullback in self-employment (PDF, 1 MB)
- Labour InSight: Widespread gains in full-time
- January 2019: Employment gives back some of the gains (PDF, 916 KB)
- Labour InSight: 2018 labour market year in review
2018
- December 2018: Unexpected surge in employment, unemployment rate falls (PDF, 445 KB)
- Labour InSight: Lagging recovery in payroll employment
- November 2018: Growing labour force pushes the unemployment rate higher (PDF, 445 KB)
- Labour InSight: Calgary labour market softens
- October 2018: Private sector improves despite headline employment dip (PDF, 445 KB)
- Labour InSight: Employment in Wood Buffalo-Cold-Lake
- September 2018: Alberta's employment surges ahead (PDF, 524 KB)
- Labour InSight: Immigrants in the Alberta labour market
- August 2018: Labour market takes a pause (PDF, 545 KB)
- Labour InSight: Strength in manufacturing
- July 2018: Employment improves in June (PDF, 464 KB)
- Labour InSight: Trends in temporary work
- June 2018: Unemployment rate falls amid modest job growth (PDF, 464 KB)
- Labour InSight: Labour market adjusting
- May 2018: More full-time and private sector jobs (PDF, 437 KB)
- Labour InSight: Albertans work more hours and miss less work
- April 2018: Solid job gains in March (PDF, 1.3 MB)
- Labour InSight: Job market improving for job seekers
- March 2018: Unemployment rate falls with modest job growth (PDF, 466 KB)
- Labour InSight: Job tenure trends in Alberta
- February 2018: Employment pulls back while full-time surges (PDF, 835 KB)
- Labour InSight: Growing number of employment opportunities
- January 2018: Strong finish to 2017 (PDF, 1.2 MB)
- Labour InSight: Labour market moves forward in 2017
Issues prior to 2018
Labour Market Notes Archive (August 2012 to current)
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Contact
Contact for Labour Market Notes and Labour InSight
Robert Van Blyderveen, Economist
Alberta Treasury Board and Finance
Phone: 780-638-5628
Toll free: 310-0000 before the phone number (in Alberta)
Email: Robert.Vanblyderveen@gov.ab.ca