(Photo: The Canadian Press)

By Justin Goulet/LethbridgeNewsNOW

Unemployment rate in Lethbridge-Medicine Hat sees significant spike in December

Jan 7, 2022 | 10:21 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The unemployment rate for the Lethbridge-Medicine Hat region saw a significant jump last month.

In December 2021, the rate was listed at 6.5 per cent. That’s up from 5.5 per cent in November. For the first time in quite a while, the region did not see the province’s lowest jobless figure. That distinction went to Edmonton, with an unemployment rate of 6.1 per cent in December.

For last month, Alberta’s jobless rate as a whole was 7.3 per cent, a slight improvement from November’s 7.6 per cent.

Below is a listing of the unemployment rate for each economic region, with November’s rate noted in parenthesis:

• Camrose-Drumheller: 8.8 per cent (8.9)
• Calgary: 7.6 per cent (7.7)
• Wood Buffalo-Cold Lake: 6.9 per cent (6.1)
• Red Deer: 6.5 per cent (6.6)
• Lethbridge-Medicine Hat: 6.5 per cent (5.5)
• Banff-Jasper-Rocky Mountain House and Athabasca-Grande Prairie-Peace River: 6.4 per cent (6.7)
• Edmonton: 6.1 per cent (7.0)

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In Alberta, the unemployment rate for youth (ages 15-24, male and female) was 13.2 per cent in December, compared to 12.8 per cent in November. The figure for adults (ages 25+, male and female) was 6.4 per cent last month, compared to 6.7 per cent in November.

More information on Alberta’s numbers are available here and here.

The national economy added 55,000 jobs in December, and Canada saw an unemployment rate of 5.9 per cent, compared with 6.0 per cent in November.