The federal government released their February 2026 job numbers yesterday, and job numbers are down in Alberta.
The net decrease to jobs between January and last month was 1,800. Over the last 3 months, Alberta has gained 4,800 jobs, an average of 1,600 jobs per month.
Gender & age
Among workers 25 years of age and older, men saw the largest increase between January and February. There were 7,700 more women over 25 at work last month compared to January. Those numbers worsen to a gain of just 2,600 if you include those who are 15–24 years old.
Women, however, saw an increase of just 900 in the number of those 25 years old and older finding new work compared to those working in January. When you add in the younger cohort, it changes to a 4,500 decrease.
Statistics Canada provided no data on non-binary or intersex workers.
Speaking of age, Alberta had fewer older people as a percentage of the total workforce last month, compared to the other provinces.
| 55+ | All ages | 55+ as % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| NL | 58,600 | 249,400 | 23.50% |
| NS | 118,600 | 524,100 | 22.63% |
| NB | 91,900 | 409,300 | 22.45% |
| PEI | 21,500 | 96,200 | 22.35% |
| BC | 625,600 | 2,927,400 | 21.37% |
| QC | 976,600 | 4,612,400 | 21.17% |
| ON | 1,735,700 | 8,211,300 | 21.14% |
| SK | 124,900 | 618,100 | 20.21% |
| MB | 139,900 | 740,100 | 18.90% |
| AB | 497,300 | 2,649,200 | 18.77% |
Compared to other provinces
Here’s how Alberta’s job numbers compare to the other provinces:
| Jan 2026 | Feb 2026 | Change | % change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ON | 8,208,000 | 8,211,300 | 3,300 | 0.04% |
| NL | 247,300 | 249,400 | 2,100 | 0.85% |
| PEI | 95,500 | 96,200 | 700 | 0.73% |
| NB | 409,600 | 409,300 | -300 | -0.07% |
| NS | 524,700 | 524,100 | -600 | -0.11% |
| AB | 2,651,000 | 2,649,200 | -1,800 | -0.07% |
| MB | 744,100 | 740,100 | -4,000 | -0.54% |
| SK | 623,600 | 618,100 | -5,500 | -0.88% |
| BC | 2,947,600 | 2,927,400 | -20,200 | -0.69% |
| QC | 4,669,700 | 4,612,400 | -57,300 | -1.23% |
Alberta had the third smallest decrease in jobs among all the provinces who lost jobs, with 1,800 jobs lost. Only New Brunswick and Nova Scotia has smaller losses, while Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island were the only provinces with gains.
This is a complete reversal for Alberta, which had the largest job gain in the country this past January.
By industry
Only 7 job sectors in Alberta actually saw an increase in jobs in December. Of those, “health care and social assistance” had the highest gains: 12,500.
The 9 remaining sectors reported by Statistics Canada saw job losses, with the “wholesale and retail trade” sector losing the most, at 6,300 jobs:
| Wholesale & retail trade | -6,300 |
| Professional, scientific & technical services | -5,700 |
| Other services (except public administration) | -4,700 |
| Educational services | -4,000 |
| Construction | -2,700 |
| Manufacturing | -2,200 |
| Public administration | -1,500 |
| Agriculture | -500 |
| Finance, insurance, real estate, rental & leasing | -400 |
Combined, these 11 industries lost 28,000 jobs.
Compared to a year ago, the industry with the highest job gains was “health care and social assistance”, increasing by over 52,000 jobs, a jump of 15.66%.
The “wholesale and retail trade” sector saw the largest decrease over the last year, losing 13,300 jobs, which was about 3.62%.
| Feb 2025 | Feb 2026 | Change | % change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care & social assistance | 333,300 | 385,500 | 52,200 | 15.66% |
| Public administration | 126,000 | 138,300 | 12,300 | 9.76% |
| Utilities | 20,000 | 29,600 | 9,600 | 48.00% |
| Finance, insurance, real estate, rental & leasing | 140,600 | 149,700 | 9,100 | 6.47% |
| Information, culture & recreation | 88,200 | 96,300 | 8,100 | 9.18% |
| Business, building & other support services | 77,000 | 85,000 | 8,000 | 10.39% |
| Accommodation & food services | 154,900 | 161,400 | 6,500 | 4.20% |
| Manufacturing | 148,900 | 153,500 | 4,600 | 3.09% |
| Educational services | 168,300 | 172,600 | 4,300 | 2.55% |
| Agriculture | 38,200 | 40,700 | 2,500 | 6.54% |
| Transportation & warehousing | 149,000 | 149,700 | 700 | 0.47% |
| Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil & gas | 142,200 | 141,100 | -1,100 | -0.77% |
| Other services (except public administration) | 96,800 | 95,500 | -1,300 | -1.34% |
| Professional, scientific & technical services | 245,700 | 240,400 | -5,300 | -2.16% |
| Construction | 267,300 | 255,500 | -11,800 | -4.41% |
| Wholesale & retail trade | 367,600 | 354,300 | -13,300 | -3.62% |
Private & public sector
The report from Statistics Canada also shows that Alberta’s private sector shrunk by 5,700 between January and February. There were 48,000 more private-sector jobs as there were this time last year, however.
In comparison, public sector jobs were down by 1,500 over January, and Alberta had 11,800 more public sector workers compared to February 2025.
Self employed jobs were up by 5,300 over January but up by just 25,100 over January 2025.
Part-time & full-time jobs
Part-time jobs grew last month. Alberta gained 25,400 part-time jobs (seasonally adjusted) between January and February.
In contrast, Alberta lost 17,300 full-time jobs during the same period.
These full-time losses last month were all men workers (25,200), with 7,900 more women working full-time. For part-time jobs, it was a loss for women (12,300) and a gain for men (-27,800).
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 2,179,900. That means that there are 293,200 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 82.29%, so the percentage of Alberta workers being employed in full-time positions has decreased.
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 pass the mark. June and August were the only months in 2025 that it rose above 82.5%. So far, January has been the only month in 2026 where it passed that mark.
As I predicted last month, this percentage drop from January, as it has every other time since June 2019 whenever it has been above 82.5%.
Wages
Speaking of full-time jobs, median wages for full-time workers in Alberta increased to $35.91 an hour last month, up from $35.33 in January.
Part-time hourly wages dropped to $19.00 from $19.50. This is the second decline in a row, and the lowest it has been since September 2025.
The median hourly wage for both full-time and part-time jobs grew to $33.00, up 3¢ from $32.97 in January.
In January, Alberta had the highest median hourly wage of all the provinces. However because theirs increased just 3¢ and British Columbia’s grew 79¢, the two provinces are now tied for having the highest.
Alberta had the highest median full-time hourly wage in February 2026, 1¢ ahead of Ontario and 23¢ ahead of BC.
| AB | $35.91 |
| ON | $35.90 |
| BC | $35.68 |
| QC | $35.00 |
| SK | $33.00 |
| NL | $31.32 |
| NS | $31.00 |
| NB | $30.00 |
| MB | $29.76 |
| PEI | $29.07 |
Alberta had the fourth largest increase in median hourly wages for full-time wages over the past 12 months.
| Feb 2025 | Feb 2026 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| QC | $33.00 | $35.00 | $2.00 |
| NS | $29.30 | $31.00 | $1.70 |
| SK | $31.50 | $33.00 | $1.50 |
| AB | $34.62 | $35.91 | $1.29 |
| ON | $34.76 | $35.90 | $1.14 |
| MB | $28.72 | $29.76 | $1.04 |
| NB | $29.05 | $30.00 | $0.95 |
| NL | $30.41 | $31.32 | $0.91 |
| BC | $35.00 | $35.68 | $0.68 |
| PEI | $28.85 | $29.07 | $0.22 |
For part-time workers, Alberta was tied with Nova Scotia for the fifth-highest median hourly wage last month, dropping from second-highest in December and fourth-highest in January.
| BC | $22.00 |
| QC | $20.24 |
| MB | $20.00 |
| PEI | $20.00 |
| ON | $19.95 |
| NS | $19.00 |
| AB | $19.00 |
| SK | $18.64 |
| NL | $18.00 |
| NB | $17.50 |
Alberta was 1 of 3 provinces to see no improvement in median hourly wages over the last year for part-time workers.
| Feb 2025 | Feb 2026 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| PEI | $17.00 | $20.00 | $3.00 |
| MB | $18.00 | $20.00 | $2.00 |
| NS | $18.00 | $19.00 | $1.00 |
| ON | $19.00 | $19.95 | $0.95 |
| QC | $20.00 | $20.24 | $0.24 |
| NL | $18.00 | $18.00 | $0.00 |
| NB | $17.50 | $17.50 | $0.00 |
| AB | $19.00 | $19.00 | $0.00 |
| SK | $19.00 | $18.64 | -$0.36 |
| BC | $23.00 | $22.00 | -$1.00 |
By industry, Alberta wages increased in 8 of the 16 reported sectors. They remained unchanged in 3 and decreased in the other 5.
| Jan 2026 | Feb 2026 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utilities | $48.08 | $60.70 | $12.62 |
| Other services (except public administration) | $23.08 | $27.23 | $4.15 |
| Manufacturing | $31.16 | $34.62 | $3.46 |
| Educational services | $36.54 | $38.00 | $1.46 |
| Public administration | $45.12 | $46.34 | $1.22 |
| Professional, scientific & technical services | $41.83 | $42.56 | $0.73 |
| Finance, insurance, real estate, rental & leasing | $34.34 | $34.86 | $0.52 |
| Information, culture & recreation | $24.00 | $24.15 | $0.15 |
| Agriculture | $27.00 | $27.00 | $0.00 |
| Health care & social assistance | $30.00 | $30.00 | $0.00 |
| Accommodation & food services | $17.00 | $17.00 | $0.00 |
| Construction | $37.00 | $36.54 | -$0.46 |
| Transportation & warehousing | $35.77 | $35.00 | -$0.77 |
| Wholesale & retail trade | $23.00 | $22.00 | -$1.00 |
| Business, building & other support services | $25.00 | $23.08 | -$1.92 |
| Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil & gas | $55.00 | $52.40 | -$2.60 |
Unemployment rate
Alberta saw its unemployment rate shrink from 6.4% in January to just 6.3% in February. In February 2025, it was 6.8%.
Alberta’s labour force decreased last month, by 6,400. With having 1,800 fewer people actually working and 6,400 more people available to work than in January, it makes sense that our unemployment rate decreased. In fact, had the labour force not grown, the unemployment rate would have been even higher.
As far as how it compares with the rest of the country, Alberta’s unemployment rate was the fifth lowest, ahead of BC (6.1%), Québec (5.9%), Manitoba (5.7%), and Saskatchewan (5.6%).
In December, Alberta had the fourth highest unemployment rate.
Of the 3 provinces that saw their unemployment rates decrease last month, Alberta had the smallest decrease.
Canada saw a decrease in employment last month, with jobs across the country falling by 83,900. Those gains were driven primarily by Québec, which lost over 57,300 jobs, as I pointed out earlier.
The national unemployment rate rose to 6.7%.
Alberta’s youth (15–24) unemployment rate was the 4th highest in the country, up from 5th lowest in January. it was also higher than the national average of 14.1%.
| NS | 16.4 |
| ON | 16.3 |
| NL | 16.2 |
| AB | 14.6 |
| BC | 13.8 |
| MB | 12.4 |
| NB | 12.0 |
| SK | 11.9 |
| PEI | 11.8 |
| QC | 10.4 |
Of the 5 provinces who saw their youth unemployment increase since January, we had the smallest increase.
| Jan 2026 | Feb 2026 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| PEI | 14.4 | 11.8 | -2.6 |
| MB | 14.1 | 12.4 | -1.7 |
| NB | 13.7 | 12.0 | -1.7 |
| NL | 16.9 | 16.2 | -0.7 |
| BC | 13.8 | 13.8 | 0.0 |
| AB | 14.1 | 14.6 | 0.5 |
| SK | 11.2 | 11.9 | 0.7 |
| NS | 14.9 | 16.4 | 1.5 |
| ON | 14.3 | 16.3 | 2.0 |
| QC | 8.2 | 10.4 | 2.2 |
Over the last year, however, we had the third highest increase in our youth unemployment rate.
| Feb 2025 | Feb 2026 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| NS | 12.0 | 16.4 | 4.4 |
| QC | 8.3 | 10.4 | 2.1 |
| AB | 13.5 | 14.6 | 1.1 |
| PEI | 10.8 | 11.8 | 1.0 |
| ON | 15.4 | 16.3 | 0.9 |
| BC | 13.0 | 13.8 | 0.8 |
| MB | 12.4 | 12.4 | 0.0 |
| SK | 13.1 | 11.9 | -1.2 |
| NL | 17.9 | 16.2 | -1.7 |
| NB | 15.9 | 12.0 | -3.9 |
