(The Canadian Press)

By Justin Goulet

Lethbridge-Medicine Hat region’s unemployment rate at 9.5 percent in July

Aug 7, 2020 | 8:43 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The unemployment rate in the Lethbridge-Medicine Hat region dropped slightly last month.

The latest figures show the jobless rate at 9.5 percent, down from 9.8 percent in June.

Across Alberta, the unemployment rate for last month was listed at 12.8 percent. Overall, that’s a strong drop from June, when the rate was 15.5 percent.

The numbers released Friday morning come as more businesses reopened their doors following closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Below is a break-down of July’s unemployment numbers by economic region in Alberta, with June’s figure listed in parentheses:

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• Edmonton: 15.5 percent (15.8 percent)
• Calgary: 14.9 percent (15.0 percent)
• Banff-Jasper-Rocky Mountain House and Athabasca-Grande Prairie-Peace River: 14.4 percent (16.5 percent)
• Red Deer: 14.0 percent (13.4 percent)
• Camrose-Drumheller: 13.1 percent (12.8)
• Wood Buffalo-Cold Lake: 12.0 percent (11.6)
• Lethbridge-Medicine Hat: 9.5 percent (9.8)

The government also provided statistics based on age. For youth (ages 15-24), male and female combined, the jobless rate for July came out to 27.0 percent (in June, it was listed at 30.7 percent).

For adults (ages 25 and up), male and female combined, the rate for July was 10.7 percent. In June, it was listed at 13.2 percent.

NATIONAL FIGURES

Across the country, Statistics Canada says the economy added 419,000 jobs in July. The national unemployment rate was 10.9 percent last month, an improvement over June’s recorded 12.3 percent.

READ MORE: Statistics Canada says country gained 419,000 jobs in July

Economists had predicted a gain of 400,000 jobs and an unemployment rate of 11 percent.

Statistics Canada noted that the rate would have been 13.8 percent for July if it had included calculations of people “who wanted to work but didn’t look for a job”.