The federal government released their December 2024 job numbers yesterday, and job numbers are up in Alberta. This is the fourth increase in the last 5 months.
The net increase to jobs between last month and November was 35,200.
Among workers 25 years of age and older, men saw the largest increase between November and December. There were 12,500 more men over 25 at work last month compared to November. Those numbers rise to 13,800 if you include those who are 15–24 years old.
Women were close behind, with 11,700 of those 25 years old and older finding new work compared to those working in November. When you add in the younger cohort, it jump to 21,300 more.
Statistics Canada provided no data on non-binary or intersex workers.
Here’s how Alberta’s job numbers compare to the other provinces:
| Nov 2024 | Dec 2024 | Change | % change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB | 2,567,300 | 2,602,500 | 35,200 | 1.37% |
| ON | 8,095,400 | 8,118,800 | 23,400 | 0.29% |
| QC | 4,570,600 | 4,585,000 | 14,400 | 0.32% |
| BC | 2,830,700 | 2,844,800 | 14,100 | 0.50% |
| NS | 514,600 | 522,000 | 7,400 | 1.44% |
| SK | 609,900 | 613,900 | 4,000 | 0.66% |
| NL | 240,200 | 241,300 | 1,100 | 0.46% |
| PEI | 94,800 | 95,100 | 300 | 0.32% |
| NB | 400,400 | 398,600 | -1,800 | -0.45% |
| MB | 723,600 | 716,400 | -7,200 | -1.00% |
Alberta saw the single largest increase in jobs among all the provinces, with over 35,000 jobs added. Ontario was in second place at 23,400.
Manitoba, on the other hand, saw the largest decrease, losing over 7,000 jobs.
We drop slightly to second place, however, when we look at the new jobs as a percentage of November’s job numbers.
11 industries in Alberta actually saw an increase in jobs in October. Of those, construction had the highest gains: 11,100.
Of the 5 remaining sectors reported by Statistics Canada, one saw no change in jobs (utilities), and the other 4 saw job losses in, with the “professional, scientific and technical services” sector losing the most, at just over 9,000 jobs:
| Professional, scientific and technical services | -11,900 |
| Information, culture and recreation | -2,700 |
| Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas | -2,100 |
| Business, building and other support services | -1,300 |
Combined, these 4 industries lost 18,000 jobs.
Compared to a year ago, the industry with the highest job gains was “health care and social assistance”, increasing by 19,400 new jobs, a jump of almost 10%.
The “professional, scientific and technical services” sector saw the largest decrease over the last year, losing over 8,000 jobs.
| Dec 2023 | Dec 2024 | Change | % change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care & social assistance | 329,500 | 348,900 | 19,400 | 5.89% |
| Manufacturing | 144,400 | 163,600 | 19,200 | 13.30% |
| Accommodation & food services | 135,700 | 151,700 | 16,000 | 11.79% |
| Finance, insurance, real estate, rental & leasing | 128,900 | 143,300 | 14,400 | 11.17% |
| Construction | 246,600 | 260,600 | 14,000 | 5.68% |
| Public administration | 117,200 | 127,500 | 10,300 | 8.79% |
| Other services (except public administration) | 104,400 | 114,500 | 10,100 | 9.67% |
| Transportation & warehousing | 144,700 | 151,800 | 7,100 | 4.91% |
| Educational services | 164,000 | 169,100 | 5,100 | 3.11% |
| Business, building & other support services | 82,000 | 83,900 | 1,900 | 2.32% |
| Information, culture & recreation | 86,300 | 87,400 | 1,100 | 1.27% |
| Wholesale & retail trade | 369,700 | 370,000 | 300 | 0.08% |
| Utilities | 21,400 | 20,000 | -1,400 | -6.54% |
| Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil & gas | 149,100 | 145,100 | -4,000 | -2.68% |
| Agriculture | 40,900 | 35,800 | -5,100 | -12.47% |
| Professional, scientific & technical services | 237,800 | 229,400 | -8,400 | -3.53% |
The report from Statistics Canada also shows that Alberta’s private sector grew by 9,100 between November and December. However, there were 60,100 more private-sector jobs than this time last year.
In contrast, Public sector jobs were up by 23,900 over November, and Alberta had 21,700 more public sector workers compared to December 2023. This marks two months in a row that public sector jobs outperformed private sector jobs.
Self employed jobs were up by 2,100 over November but up by 18,100 over December 2023.
Part-time jobs shrunk last month. Alberta lost 800 part-time jobs (seasonally adjusted) between November and December. It gained 35,900 full-time jobs during the same period.
These full-time gains were mostly women workers (27,200), with a still substantial 8,700 men working full-time. The part-time jobs were a loss for women (-5,900) but a gain for men (5,100).
In June 2019, the month before the Job Creation Tax Cut came into effect, there were 1,886,700 people working full-time. Last month, there were 2,146,100. That means that there are 259,400 more full-time jobs than there were before the UCP cut the tax on corporate profits.
While more full-time jobs does seem like a good thing, let’s take a look at how much of a percentage of total jobs are full-time jobs. In June 2019, full-time jobs made up 82.50% of all jobs in the province.
Last month, they were at 82.46%, meaning that in the more than 5 years since the UCP government introduced the so-called Job Creation Tax Cut, the percentage of Alberta workers being employed in full-time positions has shrunk.
In fact, there were only a handful of times during 2023 when this number passed 82.5%, but it was always only marginally and came right back down the following month. And only once in 2024 (July) did it passed the mark.
Speaking of full-time jobs, median wages for full-time workers in Alberta decreased by 62¢ an hour in December to $34.00. This is the lowest that median wages have been for full-time workers since August.
Part-time wages, however, had increased from $19.00 to $19.50.
The median wage for both full-time and part-time jobs decreased by 53¢, from $31.75 an hour in November to $31.18 an hour in December.
Alberta had the third highest median full-time hourly wage in December 2024, behind British Columbia and Ontario.
| BC | $35.00 |
| ON | $34.36 |
| AB | $34.00 |
| QC | $32.19 |
| SK | $32.00 |
| NL | $30.68 |
| NB | $29.12 |
| PEI | $28.85 |
| NS | $28.85 |
| MB | $28.85 |
This is the first time that any province has since its median hourly wage hit the $35 mark, and it was BC, not Alberta, that did it..
Alberta had the third smallest increase in median hourly wages for full-time wages over the past 12 months, ahead of only Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Dec 2023 | Dec 2024 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| NB | $26.67 | $29.12 | $2.45 |
| BC | $32.69 | $35.00 | $2.31 |
| PEI | $26.78 | $28.85 | $2.07 |
| SK | $30.00 | $32.00 | $2.00 |
| NS | $26.92 | $28.85 | $1.93 |
| QC | $31.00 | $32.19 | $1.19 |
| ON | $33.17 | $34.36 | $1.19 |
| AB | $33.00 | $34.00 | $1.00 |
| MB | $28.00 | $28.85 | $0.85 |
| NL | $30.00 | $30.68 | $0.68 |
Things are less rosy for part-time workers in Alberta, falling behind BC ($22) and Québec ($20).
| BC | $22.00 |
| QC | $20.00 |
| AB | $19.50 |
| SK | $19.00 |
| ON | $19.00 |
| MB | $18.00 |
| NL | $17.25 |
| NS | $17.25 |
| PEI | $17.00 |
| NB | $17.00 |
As well, Alberta saw the smallest net increase in their part-time median hourly wage since last December; although both Québec and Prince Edward Island saw no increases and New Brunswick saw a decrease.
| Dec 2023 | Dec 2024 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| BC | $20.00 | $22.00 | $2.00 |
| SK | $17.09 | $19.00 | $1.91 |
| ON | $18.00 | $19.00 | $1.00 |
| MB | $17.00 | $18.00 | $1.00 |
| NL | $16.50 | $17.25 | $0.75 |
| NS | $16.65 | $17.25 | $0.60 |
| AB | $19.00 | $19.50 | $0.50 |
| QC | $20.00 | $20.00 | $0.00 |
| PEI | $17.00 | $17.00 | $0.00 |
| NB | $17.25 | $17.00 | -$0.25 |
By industry, Alberta wages increased in 8 of the 16 reported sectors. They remained unchanged in 2, and decreased in all the rest.
| Nov 2024 | Dec 2024 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utilities | $52.41 | $56.00 | $3.59 |
| Transportation and warehousing | $30.08 | $33.00 | $2.92 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | $40.60 | $43.00 | $2.40 |
| Manufacturing | $28.85 | $31.00 | $2.15 |
| Information, culture and recreation | $23.00 | $24.00 | $1.00 |
| Other services (except public administration) | $28.85 | $29.37 | $0.52 |
| Accommodation and food services | $17.00 | $17.50 | $0.50 |
| Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas | $53.85 | $54.10 | $0.25 |
| Agriculture | $25.00 | $25.00 | $0.00 |
| Wholesale and retail trade | $22.00 | $22.00 | $0.00 |
| Public administration | $44.30 | $44.00 | -$0.30 |
| Finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing | $34.71 | $34.29 | -$0.42 |
| Educational services | $36.54 | $35.00 | -$1.54 |
| Business, building and other support services | $27.00 | $25.00 | -$2.00 |
| Health care and social assistance | $32.00 | $30.00 | -$2.00 |
| Construction | $37.00 | $34.00 | -$3.00 |
Alberta saw its unemployment rate decrease to 6.8% last month, which is down from 7.5% in November. This is the first time in 10 months we’ve been below 7%.
Alberta’s labour force also increased last month, by 14,200. With having 35,200 more people actually working but only 14,200 more people available to work than in November, it makes sense that our unemployment rate decreased.
As far as how it compares with the rest of the country, Alberta’s unemployment rate was the fifth highest, behind Newfoundland and Labrador, which was at 10.4%; Prince Edward Island, which was at 8.5%; New Brunswick, which was at 7.8%; and Ontario, which was at 7.5%.
Alberta was 1 of 4 provinces that saw its unemployment rate drop. It had the largest drop among all provinces.
The rate is up 0.4 percentage points since December 2023, which makes Alberta tied with Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia for the smallest year-over-year increase in Canada. Newfoundland and Labrador was the only province that saw a decreased over the last year.
Canada saw an increase in employment last month, with jobs across the country rising by 90,900. Those gains were driven primarily by the 4 largest provinces: Alberta (35,200), Ontario (23,400), Québec (14,400), and BC (14,100).
The national unemployment rate decreased to 6.7%, down from 6.8% in October. It was also up from 5.8% last December.
