Hwy 3 sign showing Lethbridge. (Image Credit: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

JOB MARKET

Lethbridge-Medicine Hat unemployment rate improves in December

Jan 9, 2026 | 9:14 AM

Statistics Canada and the Alberta Government say December was a good month for jobs in southern Alberta.

They report that 6.3 per cent of the eligible workforce in the Lethbridge-Medicine Hat economic region did not have a job last month, improving by 1.1 per cent compared to November.

The region, which covers most areas south of Calgary, saw its population grow by approximately 3,600 over the last year to 265,100.

The number of people who were working increased by 5,200 in the same time period.

Provincially, the unemployment rate rose by 0.3 per cent to 6.8 per cent in December, which is the same as the national average.

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Employment in Alberta declined by 13,700, which includes a reduction of 4,800 full-time jobs and 8,800 part-time positions.

The industries that experienced the largest increases in employment were healthcare and social assistance (+13,000), manufacturing (+2,700), and public administration (+1,900).

On the other hand, job losses were experienced in sectors such as accommodation and food services (-8,300), information, culture and recreation (-5,400), and construction (-4,700).

The unemployment rates for all economic regions in Alberta for December 2025 were:

• Edmonton: 6.9% (down 0.4%)
• Wood Buffalo-Cold Lake: 6.7% (up 0.1%)
• Calgary: 6.4% (down 0.6%)
• Lethbridge-Medicine Hat: 6.3% (down 1.1%)
• Red Deer: 6.1% (down 1.2%)
• Banff-Jasper-Rocky Mountain House and Athabasca-Grande Prairie-Peace River: 5% (no change)
• Camrose-Drumheller: 4.5% (up 0.5%)

You can learn more about the latest labour statistics in Alberta here. The national report can be found here.

READ MORE: Unemployment rate jumps to 6.8% in December despite job gain