As we reported on Friday, employment in Alberta grew by 29,000 in November for a total of 81,000 jobs added since September.* Alberta led the country in job growth last month, adding more jobs than even the (much larger) province of Ontario.

We also noted that the growth has not been evenly spread across industries. Today’s Twenty-Four digs into some of the industry-specific shifts in employment.

The majority of job gains this year were driven by services employment, which is up 3.6% year-to-date (YTD) relative to the first eleven months of last year. Sharp increases were seen in 9 out of 11 sub-sectors, with the strongest growth coming from finance, insurance, real estate & leasing, accommodation & food services, and public administration. Early in the year, public sector employment was leading job gains. However, there has been a marked pick up in private sector employees in the last three months.

Employment growth in the goods-producing sector has generally been subdued this year due to declines in manufacturing (the sub-sector most exposed to tariffs) and oil and gas extraction**.

The oil and gas extraction sub-sector presents an interesting case. Following a peak reached last summer (the highest level since 2015), the sub-sector has been pulling back. This contrasts with 2024, when nearly a quarter of Alberta's total employment gains came from the oil and gas extraction sub-sector. As of November this year, employment in the sub-sector was down 1.8% YTD.

This decline is understandable given that, despite rising demand for oil and gas output, companies are continuing to focus on efficiencies and capital discipline. National oil and gas capital spending, as indicated by recent quarterly data, was down 5.9% compared to the first nine months of 2024.

On one hand, it’s remarkable that Alberta has seen such a large increase in employment without the contribution from oil and gas - a sign of diversification. On the other hand, it does raise questions about the sustainability of the gains, as typically oil and gas fuels expansion in related goods and service sectors. 

Overall employment growth is currently tracking at 2.9% this year, a rate similar to last year's 3.1% increase. This is impressive, particularly because population growth in Alberta has slowed significantly in 2025, reducing the expansion of the pool of potential labour. 

The recent rotation to growth in private sector employment is a reassuring sign, and we're looking for more evidence that this pattern holds. Putting aside the sector variations, overall employment is finishing the year in a much stronger position than we were forecasting back in October. As such, we will be upgrading our employment forecast for next year. Stay tuned as our new quarterly economic outlook report is scheduled for release tomorrow!

*All of the data in today’s Twenty-Four are on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

**This is the total forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas extraction sector but constitutes mostly oil and gas extraction employment for Alberta.

Answer to the previous trivia question: At 18.2 million tonnes and 46% of the national total, Saskatchewan produced the most wheat in Canada in 2025.

Today’s trivia question: Which province produced the most barley in 2025?