The Wood Buffalo-Cold Lake region of Alberta had an extremely strong month for jobs in June. The regional unemployment rate dropped by more than half a percent from 8.3 in May to 7.7.
Overall, it seems Alberta is continuing to recover from the oil crash, with 7,500 positions added last month and the jobless rate dropping to 7.4 per cent from 7.8 per cent the previous month. While still the highest rate outside of the Maritimes by nearly a full percent, it’s closing the gap.
Within Alberta, Wood Buffalo-Cold Lake is doing better than either of the two major cities. Edmonton is sitting on an 8.2% unemployment rate while Calgary’s is even higher at 8.6. However, if you’re willing to move for better job prospects, Lethbridge-Medicine Hat is the place to be right now. Only 4.8 percent of the population there is looking for work.