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Unemployment slightly down overall

Jobless rates, figures released by Province, Statistics Canada Friday

Oct 9, 2026 | 10:29 AM

Alberta Jobs, Economy, Trade, and Immigration putting out its monthly September figures. 

The labour force survey showed that just under 2.7 million people were employed in Alberta last month, an increase of 75,700 from September of 2025. 

The review also found an increase in the number of workers by 23,100 when comparing last month to the month before.

Those figures, however, buck the national trend where the number of jobs actually fell by 68,000, or .3 percent August to September. 

The largest monthly gains in employment were in the professional and scientific fields with health care and social assistance at the other end of the spectrum. 

Indigenous employment numbers were mixed – the 14 percent unemployment rate last month, a half percentage point drop from August, but 3 percent higher versus September 2025.

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Still with unemployment… 

Statistics Canada also released its seasonally-adjusted three-month moving average earlier Friday. 

It said the national jobless rate stood at 6.5 percent with a little less than 1.47 million Canadians out of work.  

In Alberta, three of the four largest cities saw a decline August to September – Calgary from 6.7 to 6.3 percent, Red Deer from 7.3 to 6.3 and Lethbridge from 5.6 to 5.5. 

Edmonton remained unchanged at 6.9. 

The worst numbers, among Canada’s major cities, was Oshawa, Ontario at 8.8 and London at 8.4, which can be directly linked to the automotive sector and the ongoing trade war with the United States.