Region unemployment reverses direction, shows decline in March

LETHBRIDGE – The jobless rate for the Lethbridge-Medicine Hat region took a turn for the better in March. But the reason may be a smaller workforce.

Numbers released by Statistics Canada and the Alberta government Friday, April 6 show a 6.5 per cent unadjusted, three-month moving average unemployment rate for the region in March. That’s an improvement from February’s 6.9 per cent, which was also the rate in March 2017.

While it follows several increases, the reason does not appear to be more people working. In fact, the total number of jobs in the region, again an unadjusted three-month moving average, declined by 1,300.

The Lethbridge-Medicine Hat area now has the third-highest rate in the province, after Calgary (eight per cent) and Edmonton (6.8 per cent). The lowest rate once again belongs to Camrose-Drumheller, which saw a decrease to 3.9 per cent. Banff-Jasper-Rocky Mountain House/Athabasca-Grande Prairie-Peace River declined to 5.1 per cent, Red Deer dropped significantly to 4.9 per cent, and Wood Buffalo-Cold Lake was also lower, at 5.7 per cent.