After rising by 7,000 (0.3%) in January, the number of seasonally adjusted jobs in Alberta increased in February by 8,200 (0.4%).

Full-time employment decreased by 9,600 (0.5%) while part-time jobs rose by 17,700 (4.0%).

The number of jobs in the province was 1.8% higher than in February 2020 before the pandemic was declared.

The unemployment rate in Alberta went from 7.2% in January to 6.8% in February.

It was a somewhat different picture nationally with the number of jobs rising by 336,600 (1.8%) with improvement across both full-time (up 0.8%) and part-time (up 6.2%) positions.

Canada’s unemployment rate went from 6.5% in January to 5.5% in February.

Jobs numbers in Canada were 1.9% above their pre-pandemic level.

February Labour Force Survey data reflect labour market conditions during the week of February 13 to 19.

Answer to the previous trivia question: According to the World Trade Organization, the annual value of global merchandise trade contracted by 7.4% (US$1.4 trillion) in 2020. 

Today’s trivia question: How many workers did it take to build the Empire State Building?