New data from the Labour Force Survey reflecting conditions during the week of May 9 to 15 show that the number of jobs in Alberta barely moved compared to April’s level.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, employment in the province contracted by 0.04% or about 1,000 jobs out of 2.2 million.

A drop in the number of Albertans in the labour force rather than rising employment pushed the unemployment rate down from 9.0% in April to 8.7% in May.

Compared to the pre-pandemic benchmark of February 2020, employment in the province was down by 2.1% or 47,500 jobs.

Nationally, employment fell by 0.4% or 68,000 jobs while the unemployment rate ticked up a tenth of a percentage point to 8.2%.

Looking ahead, the number of jobs should go up in June as health restrictions are lifted, but the unemployment rate may increase as more job seekers enter the labour force.

Answer to the previous trivia question: June is known as the best month to get married in part because it is named after the Roman goddess of marriage.

Today’s trivia question: Which city claims to be the oldest in Canada?