Despite the loosening of public health restrictions that began on June 1, new data from the Labour Force Survey reflecting conditions during the week of June 13 to 19 show that job growth in Alberta was flat for the second month in a row.

At the same time, the unemployment rate increased from 8.7% in May to 9.3% in June as more Albertans entered the job market.

Things were somewhat different nationally with employment increasing by 1.2% and the unemployment rate falling from 8.2% in May to 7.8% in June.

The number of full-time jobs in Alberta contracted by 2.0% (-37,000) while part-time employment increased by 9.1% (+36,800).

Part-time job growth was also the main driver nationally, increasing by 8.0% while full-time employment edged down by 0.2%.

Compared to the pre-pandemic benchmark of February 2020, employment in the province was down by 2.1% or 47,700 jobs.

Answer to the previous trivia question: The land area of the Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) of Edmonton is 9,439 square kilometres compared to 5,110 for the CMA of Calgary.

Today’s trivia question: What type of surgery was performed successfully for the first time on this day in 1893 by Dr. Daniel Hale Williams?