The federal government released their September 2026 job numbers last week, and job numbers are down in Alberta.
The net decrease to jobs between September and last month was 24,300, completely wiping out the 23,100 job gain in September.
Keep in mind that in July and August, Alberta lost lost 16,200 jobs, so over the last 4 months, Alberta has lost 17,400 jobs.
Gender & age
Among workers 25 years of age and older, men saw the larger decrease between September and October. There were 6,500 fewer men over 25 at work last month compared to September. Those numbers worsen to a loss of 16,000 if you include those who are 15–24 years old.
Women, however, saw an decrease of 2,500 in the number of those 25 years old and older finding new work compared to those working in September. When you add in the younger cohort, it drops even more to a 8,300 loss.
Statistics Canada provided no data on non-binary or intersex workers.
Speaking of age, of all the provinces in Canada, Alberta had the second fewest older people as a percentage of the total workforce last month.
| Total | 55+ | 55+ as % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| NL | 249,700 | 56,900 | 22.79% |
| NB | 409,100 | 92,800 | 22.68% |
| NS | 543,000 | 119,900 | 22.08% |
| ON | 8,277,900 | 1,747,100 | 21.11% |
| PEI | 95,300 | 19,900 | 20.88% |
| BC | 2,941,300 | 608,300 | 20.68% |
| QC | 4,546,800 | 925,100 | 20.35% |
| SK | 624,600 | 122,000 | 19.53% |
| AB | 2,659,900 | 502,900 | 18.91% |
| MB | 752,500 | 139,800 | 18.58% |
The month before, older adults made up 18.51% of the total workforce, so the percentage increased slightly.
Compared to other provinces
Here’s how Alberta’s job numbers compare to the other provinces:
| Sep 2026 | Oct 2026 | Change | % change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BC | 2,929,000 | 2,941,300 | 12,300 | 0.42% |
| QC | 4,539,300 | 4,546,800 | 7,500 | 0.17% |
| NL | 246,800 | 249,700 | 2,900 | 1.18% |
| SK | 622,100 | 624,600 | 2,500 | 0.40% |
| NS | 540,700 | 543,000 | 2,300 | 0.43% |
| NB | 407,900 | 409,100 | 1,200 | 0.29% |
| MB | 751,700 | 752,500 | 800 | 0.11% |
| PEI | 96,600 | 95,300 | -1,300 | -1.35% |
| ON | 8,286,500 | 8,277,900 | -8,600 | -0.10% |
| AB | 2,684,200 | 2,659,900 | -24,300 | -0.91% |
Alberta was 1 of 5 provinces that saw job numbers rise, and of those 5, Alberta had the largest increase in terms of absolute numbers. As a percentage of total jobs, Alberta had the second largest increase.
In August, Alberta had the third largest decrease in jobs.
Québec had the largest decrease in the country, losing nearly 50,000 jobs.
Over the last year, Alberta has seen the largest number of new jobs created, even when factoring in job losses over 3 of the last 4 months.
| Oct 2025 | Oct 2026 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AB | 2,618,600 | 2,659,900 | 41,300 |
| ON | 8,252,500 | 8,277,900 | 25,400 |
| NS | 521,400 | 543,000 | 21,600 |
| MB | 736,600 | 752,500 | 15,900 |
| SK | 618,400 | 624,600 | 6,200 |
| NB | 404,500 | 409,100 | 4,600 |
| NL | 245,200 | 249,700 | 4,500 |
| PEI | 93,500 | 95,300 | 1,800 |
| BC | 2,940,500 | 2,941,300 | 800 |
| QC | 4,652,300 | 4,546,800 | -105,500 |
They were followed by Ontario and Nova Scotia, both of which gained over 20,000 jobs since October 2025. Québec was the only province to lose jobs, and they lost big time: over 100,000 of them.
On a percentage basis, Alberta dropped to 5th place, increasing total jobs by 1.58%.
| Oct 2025 | Oct 2026 | % change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| NS | 521,400 | 543,000 | 4.14% |
| MB | 736,600 | 752,500 | 2.16% |
| PEI | 93,500 | 95,300 | 1.93% |
| NL | 245,200 | 249,700 | 1.84% |
| AB | 2,618,600 | 2,659,900 | 1.58% |
| NB | 404,500 | 409,100 | 1.14% |
| SK | 618,400 | 624,600 | 1.00% |
| ON | 8,252,500 | 8,277,900 | 0.31% |
| BC | 2,940,500 | 2,941,300 | 0.03% |
| QC | 4,652,300 | 4,546,800 | -2.27% |
They were surpassed by Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia, which itself increased by over 4%.
By industry
9 job sectors in Alberta saw an increase in jobs last month. Of those, construction had the highest gains: 5,000.
The remaining 7 sectors reported by Statistics Canada saw job losses, with the “transportation and warehousing” sector losing the most, at 14,400 jobs:
| Transportation & warehousing | -14,400 |
| Professional, scientific & technical services | -10,500 |
| Wholesale & retail trade | -8,200 |
| Business, building & other support services | -7,300 |
| Information, culture & recreation | -1,400 |
| Utilities | -1,300 |
| Agriculture | -1,100 |
Combined, these 8 industries lost over 44,000 jobs.
Compared to a year ago, the industry with the highest job gains was “health care and social assistance”, increasing by almost 43,000 jobs, a jump of 12.59%.
The “accommodation and food services” sector saw the largest decrease over the last year, losing nearly 13,000 jobs, which was over 8% of its total workforce.
| Oct 2025 | Oct 2026 | Change | % change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care & social assistance | 340,700 | 383,600 | 42,900 | 12.59% |
| Construction | 254,100 | 278,300 | 24,200 | 9.52% |
| Wholesale & retail trade | 365,100 | 379,600 | 14,500 | 3.97% |
| Other services (except public administration) | 98,100 | 104,900 | 6,800 | 6.93% |
| Finance, insurance, real estate, rental & leasing | 144,200 | 150,400 | 6,200 | 4.30% |
| Manufacturing | 149,600 | 153,800 | 4,200 | 2.81% |
| Business, building & other support services | 84,600 | 88,600 | 4,000 | 4.73% |
| Information, culture & recreation | 94,200 | 95,400 | 1,200 | 1.27% |
| Agriculture | 38,300 | 35,800 | -2,500 | -6.53% |
| Educational services | 176,200 | 172,000 | -4,200 | -2.38% |
| Professional, scientific & technical services | 251,800 | 244,800 | -7,000 | -2.78% |
| Public administration | 143,100 | 135,800 | -7,300 | -5.10% |
| Transportation & warehousing | 151,300 | 142,500 | -8,800 | -5.82% |
| Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil & gas | 143,600 | 134,000 | -9,600 | -6.69% |
| Utilities | 28,100 | 17,900 | -10,200 | -36.30% |
| Accommodation & food services | 155,600 | 142,700 | -12,900 | -8.29% |
Private & public sector
The report from Statistics Canada also shows that Alberta’s private sector shrunk by 18,200. That is on top of the 4,500 lost between August and September, completely wiping out the 8,700 gained in August, and more.
In fact, since the end of last year, Alberta’s private sector has seen a net gain of 8,600 jobs, which works out to just 860 jobs per month. For the entire province.
That being said, there were 39,700 more private-sector jobs last month as there were this time last year, driven primarily by gains last November, which were more than 38,000.
Since last November, however, Alberta’s private sector has grown by just 1,400, or about 127 new jobs per month.
In comparison, public sector jobs were up by 12,600 over September, and Alberta had just 500 more public sector workers compared to October 2026.
Self employed jobs were down by 18,700 over September, eliminating over two-thirds of the 26,400 jobs gained between August and September. Jobs are still up by 1,100 over October 2025.
Part-time & full-time jobs
Part-time jobs shrunk last month. Alberta lost 19,700 part-time jobs (seasonally adjusted) between September and October.
In comparison, Alberta lost 4,600 full-time jobs during the same period. When we add these to the full-time jobs that disappeared between May and August, Alberta has seen a net increase of just 2,500 full-time jobs over the last 5 months. That averages out to just 500 jobs per month.
These full-time losses last month were mostly men workers (11,900), with 7,300 more women working full-time. For part-time jobs, it was a loss for both men (4,200) and women (15,500).
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 2,218,200. That means that there are 331,500 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 83.39%, so the percentage of Alberta workers being employed in full-time positions has also increased; although it is down from 82.97% in March, 82.84% in May, 82.59% in both June and July, and 82.81% in August.
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, February and April have been the only months in 2026 where it did not pass that mark.
Wages
Speaking of full-time jobs, median wages for full-time workers in Alberta increased by 50¢ an hour to $35.00 an hour last month, up from $34.50 in September but still down from $36.06 in April.
Part-time hourly wages increased 79¢ to to $20 an hour, up from $19.21 an hour. They were at $20 an hour in March, April, June, July, and August.
The median hourly wage for both full-time and part-time jobs increased to $32.00, up 57¢ from $31.43 in August.
Alberta had the second highest median hourly wage of all the provinces, behind BC. Alberta has been behind BC since 2023, except this past January, when they were briefly ahead and February and April when they were tied. There was also a brief period last year when Alberta was in third place, behind not only BC but also Ontario, as was the case this past September.
In July, Alberta workers were 79¢ an hour behind those in BC. In August, however, that gap increased to $1.79 behind and widened even more in September to $2.00. Last month, Alberta closed the gap to just $1.00. BC’s median hourly wage for both full-time and part-time wages was $34.00 last month, unchanged from September.
Speaking of which, Alberta had the third highest median full-time hourly wage in August 2026, 2 behind BC, 71¢ behind Ontario, and tied with Québec.
| BC | $37.00 |
| ON | $35.71 |
| QC | $35.00 |
| AB | $35.00 |
| SK | $32.00 |
| NS | $31.06 |
| NL | $30.84 |
| NB | $30.00 |
| PEI | $29.74 |
| MB | $29.03 |
Alberta was one of just 3 provinces to not see a net increase in median hourly wages for full-time workers over the past 12 months.
| Oct 2025 | Oct 2026 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| QC | $33.33 | $35.00 | $1.67 |
| BC | $35.90 | $37.00 | $1.10 |
| NS | $30.00 | $31.06 | $1.06 |
| NB | $29.00 | $30.00 | $1.00 |
| SK | $31.77 | $32.00 | $0.23 |
| ON | $35.52 | $35.71 | $0.19 |
| MB | $28.85 | $29.03 | $0.18 |
| AB | $35.00 | $35.00 | $0.00 |
| PEI | $29.76 | $29.74 | -$0.02 |
| NL | $31.10 | $30.84 | -$0.26 |
For part-time workers, Alberta had the fourth-lowest median hourly wage last month, up from fifth-highest in September but still down from second-highest in August.
| BC | $22.00 |
| PQ | $21.00 |
| PEI | $20.60 |
| NL | $20.00 |
| ON | $20.00 |
| AB | $20.00 |
| MB | $19.00 |
| NB | $18.75 |
| SK | $18.75 |
| NS | $18.50 |
Of the provinces who saw increases in part-time median hourly wages over the last year, Alberta had the smallest increase.
| Oct 2025 | Oct 2026 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| PEI | $18.00 | $20.60 | $2.60 |
| NL | $18.00 | $20.00 | $2.00 |
| NB | $17.50 | $18.75 | $1.25 |
| ON | $19.00 | $20.00 | $1.00 |
| PQ | $20.38 | $21.00 | $0.62 |
| MB | $18.45 | $19.00 | $0.55 |
| AB | $19.50 | $20.00 | $0.50 |
| SK | $18.86 | $18.75 | -$0.11 |
| BC | $22.40 | $22.00 | -$0.40 |
| NS | $19.00 | $18.50 | -$0.50 |
By industry, Alberta wages increased in just 7 of the 16 reported sectors since July. They decreased or remained unchanged in the other 9.
| Sep 2026 | Oct 2026 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business, building & other support services | $21.93 | $25.00 | $3.07 |
| Agriculture | $25.00 | $27.00 | $2.00 |
| Health care & social assistance | $31.00 | $32.00 | $1.00 |
| Professional, scientific & technical services | $42.00 | $42.31 | $0.31 |
| Wholesale & retail trade | $22.00 | $22.27 | $0.27 |
| Accommodation & food services | $17.00 | $17.25 | $0.25 |
| Public administration | $49.44 | $49.49 | $0.05 |
| Construction | $35.00 | $35.00 | $0.00 |
| Transportation & warehousing | $33.00 | $33.00 | $0.00 |
| Finance, insurance, real estate, rental & leasing | $40.00 | $40.00 | $0.00 |
| Educational services | $40.54 | $40.00 | -$0.54 |
| Manufacturing | $32.00 | $31.25 | -$0.75 |
| Other services (except public administration) | $25.00 | $24.00 | -$1.00 |
| Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil & gas | $57.45 | $55.00 | -$2.45 |
| Information, culture & recreation | $29.00 | $26.00 | -$3.00 |
| Utilities | $53.85 | $48.49 | -$5.36 |
Over the last year, things seem a bit worse. Wages still increased in 7 sectors, but they worsened in 8 of the remaining 9.
| Oct 2025 | Oct 2026 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Educational services | $36.26 | $40.00 | $3.74 |
| Public administration | $46.67 | $49.49 | $2.82 |
| Health care & social assistance | $29.33 | $32.00 | $2.67 |
| Finance, insurance, real estate, rental & leasing | $38.46 | $40.00 | $1.54 |
| Professional, scientific & technical services | $41.02 | $42.31 | $1.29 |
| Information, culture & recreation | $25.00 | $26.00 | $1.00 |
| Accommodation & food services | $17.00 | $17.25 | $0.25 |
| Business, building & other support services | $25.00 | $25.00 | $0.00 |
| Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil & gas | $55.29 | $55.00 | -$0.29 |
| Manufacturing | $31.93 | $31.25 | -$0.68 |
| Wholesale & retail trade | $23.00 | $22.27 | -$0.73 |
| Transportation & warehousing | $34.20 | $33.00 | -$1.20 |
| Construction | $37.50 | $35.00 | -$2.50 |
| Agriculture | $30.00 | $27.00 | -$3.00 |
| Other services (except public administration) | $28.57 | $24.00 | -$4.57 |
| Utilities | $59.62 | $48.49 | -$11.13 |
Unemployment rate
Alberta saw its unemployment rate jump almost a full point, from 6.4% in September to 7.3% last month. In October 2025, it was 7.6%.
Alberta’s labour force increased last month, by 1,800. With having 24,300 fewer people actually working but only 1,800 more available to work than in September, it makes sense that our unemployment rate increased.
As far as how it compares with the rest of the country, Alberta had the country’s 4th highest unemployment rate, tied with Ontario. They were behind Newfoundland and Labrador (8.7%), New Brunswick (7.4%), and PEI (7.4%).
Canada saw a decrease in employment last month, with jobs across the country dropping by 4,700, adding to the 41,700 lost in August and the 68,300 lost in September. Last month’s losses were driven primarily by Alberta (24,300). Ontario was a distant second, with 8,600 jobs lost.
The national unemployment rate increased slightly, from 6.5% in September to 6.5% in October. It was 6.9% in October of last year
Alberta’s youth (15–24) unemployment rate was the 4th highest in the country, up from 5th highest in September but down up from highest in August. It was higher than the national average of 13.7%.
| NL | 17.5 |
| ON | 16.1 |
| NB | 15.7 |
| AB | 15.2 |
| SK | 14.3 |
| BC | 12.8 |
| NS | 12.0 |
| MB | 11.0 |
| PEI | 10.8 |
| QC | 9.5 |
Alberta had the second largest increase in its youth unemployment rate between September and October.
| Sep 2026 | Oct 2026 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| PEI | 13.0 | 10.8 | -2.2 |
| MB | 12.1 | 11.0 | -1.1 |
| QC | 9.9 | 9.5 | -0.4 |
| BC | 12.9 | 12.8 | -0.1 |
| NB | 15.1 | 15.7 | 0.6 |
| NL | 16.8 | 17.5 | 0.7 |
| ON | 15.2 | 16.1 | 0.9 |
| NS | 10.8 | 12.0 | 1.2 |
| AB | 12.5 | 15.2 | 2.7 |
| SK | 11.4 | 14.3 | 2.9 |
However, when we look at performance over the last year, Alberta improved to second place, behind only Saskatchewan.
| Oct 2025 | Oct 2026 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| SK | 12.0 | 14.3 | 2.3 |
| AB | 14.9 | 15.2 | 0.3 |
| QC | 9.3 | 9.5 | 0.2 |
| ON | 15.9 | 16.1 | 0.2 |
| NB | 16.4 | 15.7 | -0.7 |
| NL | 18.2 | 17.5 | -0.7 |
| MB | 12.2 | 11.0 | -1.2 |
| NS | 14.1 | 12.0 | -2.1 |
| BC | 15.2 | 12.8 | -2.4 |
| PEI | 15.5 | 10.8 | -4.7 |
