“While there was a reduction in part-time employment, December’s job numbers demonstrate the resiliency of the Alberta economy with an increase of 30,000 full-time jobs. This happened in the middle of a provincewide shutdown.
“We know that many small businesses are struggling to stay alive. That is why we tripled the support available to them through our relaunch grant. As of Jan. 7, we have paid out more than $232 million to more than 36,000 small and medium-sized businesses to help them when they need it most.
“The pandemic is not over but we are hopeful we will soon see restrictions loosened and jobs recovered as we move forward.”