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In Alberta, employment growth in March was also modest at +0.2% (6,400). A larger number of people entering the labour force pushed the unemployment rate up from 6.3% in February to 6.5% in March.

Looking over a longer time frame, the trend has been more favourable in Alberta. On a quarterly basis, Alberta performed better than the country as a whole, adding 20,000 jobs for a quarter-over-quarter growth rate of 0.8% compared to -0.2% nationally. Compared to the same month last year, Alberta employment was up 4.0% in March vs. a 0.4% national increase.

As expected, we continue to see a rebalancing in Alberta’s labour market, with the rate of job growth outpacing the rate of population growth over the last year. This has resulted in a lower unemployment rate than a year ago (7.2% in March 2025) and well below the cyclical peak of 8.2% last August. Alberta has been below the national unemployment rate for five months in a row, the longest streak since 2015.

Given Alberta's status as the country’s largest oil producer, plus ongoing population growth and resilient activity across a broad range of sectors, we expect employment growth to continue to outpace the national average this year. If recent trends hold, we see some upside to our 2026 employment forecast, though the unemployment rate is tracking close to our call.

Key Statistics

Canada

• Employment Change: 14,100 (0.1%)
• Unemployment Rate: 6.7% (6.7% in February)
• Annual Growth: 0.4% year-over-year employment growth

Alberta

• Employment Change: 6,400
• Unemployment Rate: 6.5% (6.3% in February)
• Annual Growth: 4.0%  year-over-year employment growth

Calgary (3-month moving average)

• Unemployment Rate: 6.7% (6.6% in February).
• Trend: Employment growth in Calgary continues to be robust with jobs added in January, February and March with a year-over-year growth rate of 4.2% in March.

Edmonton (3-month moving average)

• Unemployment Rate: 6.5% (6.8% in February).
• Trend: With consecutive job gains so far this year, employment in Edmonton was up by 5.2% in March compared to the same month last year. 

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