Statistics Canada published the latest figures for labour force participation on Friday, providing a final insight into the labour market and unemployment for 2023.
December figures for the Calgary Metropolitan Region saw a small decline—within Statistics Canada’s margin for error—of 0.2 per cent in seasonally adjusted unemployment rates to 5.9 per cent.
Year-over-year, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped from 6.3 per cent in December of 2022.
According to analysis performed by Calgary Economic Development (CED), with the drop, Calgary’s position on national unemployment rankings improved putting it below Edmonton.
“Calgary now has the fourth highest unemployment rate of major Canadian cities (down from third-highest, as Montreal’s unemployment rate increased),” said CED.
Adjusted trends for employment in Calgary saw a minor decrease in number of full-time employees in Calgary, down 4,800 jobs or 0.6 per cent, to 735,200 in the city. That amount was approximately the same level as seen in December of 2022, with 738,200.
Part-time employment rose sharply over the year by 28,100 jobs, or 19 per cent, from 148,200 in Dec. 2022 to 176,300 in Dec. 2023.
CED said that over-all there had been a drop for the past five months in overall employment in Calgary, but that the smaller drop in December could be an indicator of a more stable employment rate.
"Every other major Canadian city also saw slight declines. Calgary maintains the second highest employment rate just behind Ottawa (66.1 per cent),” according to their media release.
"Population growth in Canada and Alberta have seen significant growth in recent years but employment growth has responded slower than the expansion of the labour force. The labour market report shows an economy in which growth is being constrained by high borrowing costs, and cooling demand."
The size of Calgary's labour force remained unchanged in Dec., at 965,200.
That stability, according to the analysis done by CED, has been seen across Canada.
"At the end of 2023, Canada’s economy slowed down with the labour market remaining relatively unchanged. Unemployment rates across Canada remain relatively steady and stable."
Among the professions with the highest increases year-over-year in Calgary, were those in information, recreation, and cultural services, at 25 per cent), and business, building, and other support services, at 27 per cent.
Manufacturing and utilities also increases at 42 per cent, and 28 per cent respectfully.
Public administration saw the largest year-over-year decrease at 20 per cent, alongside health care and social assistance which saw an 18 per cent decrease.
Unemployment rate for newest immigrants rises, but trend is down from yearlong highs
Among the other statistics released by Stats Can on Friday, were the updated rates of unemployment for immigrants in Alberta.
Overall trends showed that despite a rise from 6.7 per cent to 8.2 per cent for the newest immigrants to Alberta (landed five years or less), the overall trend throughout the year has been downwards from highs seen in March at 11.5 per cent and in August at 11.2 per cent.
Immigrants between five and 10 years saw increasing rates throughout 2023, rising to just above the provincial average by 0.1 per cent to 6 per cent in December.
Landed immigrants who have been in Canada longer than 10 years continued to have unemployment rates below the provincial average, ending the year up from a three-month low at 5.1 per cent, after a steady rate at 4.2 per cent.
Pablo Franco, Associate Director for Career and Employment Services with the Centre for Newcomers, said that the centre has seen many Ukrainians begin to complete up-skilling and have, as a result, become highly employable.
"With Ukrainians, this is really my personal perspective, they have a very unique kind of situation. They came here as temporary residents, and at the same time, they quickly got their work permits so they were able to join the workforce quickly,” Franco said.
He said that the large increase during 2023 in unemployment numbers matched what the centre was seeing in terms of just new immigrants to Calgary looking for help.
The numbers, he said, went from around 20,000 people to over 50,000.
"Immigration, now that it is going after pandemic, we have 500,000 new immigrants coming to Canada annually. So that is a large number of people,” Franco said.
A challenge for immigrants looking to land jobs in Alberta has been competition with internal-Canadian migrants to the province, Franco said.
"Despite that, Alberta is opening new opportunities... there is job opportunities here in the province, employers are hiring, but still the unemployment is very similar because it's not only new immigrants, it's also the internal migration that Alberta is receiving."
