The federal government released their March 2025 job numbers yesterday, and job numbers are down in Alberta.
The net decrease to jobs between last month and February was 15,400. This marks 3 months in a row where Alberta has lost jobs. The province has lost nearly 22,000 jobs so far in 2025.
Among workers 25 years of age and older, women saw the largest decrease between February and March. There were 6,700 fewer women over 25 at work last month compared to February. Those numbers jump to a loss of 11,800 if you include those who are 15–24 years old.
Men, however, saw a decrease of 3,400 in those 25 years old and older finding new work compared to those working in February. When you add in the younger cohort, it rises slightly to a 3,600 decrease.
Statistics Canada provided no data on non-binary or intersex workers.
Here’s how Alberta’s job numbers compare to the other provinces:
| Feb 2025 | Mar 2025 | Change | % change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SK | 606,900 | 613,500 | 6,600 | 1.09% |
| BC | 2,939,200 | 2,944,900 | 5,700 | 0.19% |
| NS | 522,900 | 524,900 | 2,000 | 0.38% |
| NL | 242,700 | 244,300 | 1,600 | 0.66% |
| NB | 401,400 | 401,600 | 200 | 0.05% |
| PEI | 93,800 | 93,900 | 100 | 0.11% |
| MB | 732,000 | 730,900 | -1,100 | -0.15% |
| QC | 4,632,200 | 4,627,300 | -4,900 | -0.11% |
| AB | 2,566,200 | 2,550,800 | -15,400 | -0.60% |
| ON | 8,257,300 | 8,229,800 | -27,500 | -0.33% |
Saskatchewan saw the single largest increase in jobs among all the provinces, with 6,600 jobs added.
Only 4 provinces saw decreases last month, and Alberta saw the second largest decrease, coming behind only Ontario.
On a percentage basis, Alberta had the largest loss, nearly double that of Ontario.
8 industries in Alberta actually saw an increase in jobs in March. Of those, construction had the highest gains: 5,700.
The 8 remaining sectors reported by Statistics Canada saw job losses, with the manufacturing sector losing the most, at 11,300 jobs:
| Manufacturing | -11,300 |
| Wholesale & retail trade | -9,200 |
| Accommodation & food services | -6,600 |
| Health care & social assistance | -5,600 |
| Information, culture & recreation | -3,100 |
| Professional, scientific & technical services | -2,100 |
| Agriculture | -1,900 |
| Utilities | -1,800 |
Combined, these 8 industries lost 41,600 jobs.
Compared to a year ago, the industry with the highest job gains was “construction”, increasing by over 22,300 jobs, a jump of nearly 9%.
The “manufacturing” sector saw the largest decrease over the last year, losing 11,200 jobs, which was about 7.5%.
| Mar 2024 | Mar 2025 | Change | % change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | 250,100 | 272,400 | 22,300 | 8.92% |
| Wholesale and retail trade | 346,500 | 361,600 | 15,100 | 4.36% |
| Finance, insurance, real estate, rental & leasing | 128,400 | 141,900 | 13,500 | 10.51% |
| Professional, scientific & technical services | 234,300 | 245,300 | 11,000 | 4.69% |
| Accommodation & food services | 140,400 | 148,500 | 8,100 | 5.77% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 146,200 | 153,300 | 7,100 | 4.86% |
| Public administration | 122,100 | 127,900 | 5,800 | 4.75% |
| Educational services | 164,600 | 169,800 | 5,200 | 3.16% |
| Health care & social assistance | 326,200 | 327,700 | 1,500 | 0.46% |
| Information, culture & recreation | 83,300 | 84,300 | 1,000 | 1.20% |
| Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil & gas | 149,600 | 147,000 | -2,600 | -1.74% |
| Agriculture | 39,700 | 36,400 | -3,300 | -8.31% |
| Utilities | 23,900 | 18,500 | -5,400 | -22.59% |
| Business, building & other support services | 87,100 | 78,100 | -9,000 | -10.33% |
| Other services (except public administration) | 108,700 | 99,200 | -9,500 | -8.74% |
| Manufacturing | 150,200 | 139,000 | -11,200 | -7.46% |
The report from Statistics Canada also shows that Alberta’s private sector shrunk by 28,200 between February and March. However, there were 9,900 more private-sector jobs than this time last year.
In contrast, public sector jobs were up by 2,600 over February, and Alberta had 22,300 more public sector workers compared to March 2024. This marks 5 months in a row that public sector jobs outperformed private sector jobs.
Self employed jobs were up by 10,100 over February and up by 17,200 over March 2024.
Part-time jobs grew last month. Alberta gained 14,900 part-time jobs (seasonally adjusted) between February and March, which is less than the 18,100 they’d lost in February.
In contrast, Alberta lost 30,300 full-time jobs during the same period, completely wiping out the 15,900 full-time jobs we gained in February. So far, in 2025, we’ve lost 35,800 full-time jobs.
These full-time losses were mostly men workers (17,400), with a still substantial 12,900 fewer women working full-time. The part-time jobs were a gain for men (2,100) and women (6,100).
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 2,084,600. That means that there are 197,900 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 81.72%, meaning that in the nearly 6 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 pass the mark.
Speaking of full-time jobs, median wages for full-time workers in Alberta remained the same, compared to February, at $34.62. This is also where full-time wages sat at in October, November, and January.
Part-time wages, however, had increased a full $1 from $19.00. It was at $20 in January but had dropped to $19 in February.
The median wage for both full-time and part-time jobs fell from $32.69 in February to $32.26 last month.
Alberta had the second highest median full-time hourly wage in March 2025, behind British Columbia and just 9¢ ahead of Ontario.
| BC | $35.00 |
| AB | $34.62 |
| ON | $34.53 |
| QC | $32.52 |
| SK | $32.26 |
| NL | $31.29 |
| NS | $30.00 |
| NB | $29.92 |
| MB | $28.79 |
| PEI | $28.00 |
Alberta had the fifth smallest increase in median hourly wages for full-time wages over the past 12 months, down from fourth place in February.
| Mar 2024 | Mar 2025 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| NB | $27.25 | $29.92 | $2.67 |
| NS | $28.00 | $30.00 | $2.00 |
| NL | $29.85 | $31.29 | $1.44 |
| ON | $33.17 | $34.53 | $1.36 |
| BC | $33.65 | $35.00 | $1.35 |
| AB | $33.33 | $34.62 | $1.29 |
| SK | $31.25 | $32.26 | $1.01 |
| MB | $27.98 | $28.79 | $0.81 |
| PEI | $27.40 | $28.00 | $0.60 |
| QC | $32.00 | $32.52 | $0.52 |
For part-time workers, Alberta is tied with Québec for the second highest median hourly wage.
| BC | $22.50 |
| QC | $20.00 |
| AB | $20.00 |
| MB | $19.45 |
| ON | $19.00 |
| SK | $18.50 |
| NL | $18.25 |
| NS | $18.00 |
| NB | $17.25 |
| PEI | $16.50 |
Alberta drops to fifth place—tied with Nova Scotia—when we look at median hourly part-time wages over the last year.
| Mar 2024 | Mar 2025 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| BC | $20.00 | $22.50 | $2.50 |
| MB | $17.50 | $19.45 | $1.95 |
| NL | $17.00 | $18.25 | $1.25 |
| SK | $17.40 | $18.50 | $1.10 |
| AB | $19.00 | $20.00 | $1.00 |
| NS | $17.00 | $18.00 | $1.00 |
| ON | $18.75 | $19.00 | $0.25 |
| NB | $17.17 | $17.25 | $0.08 |
| QC | $20.00 | $20.00 | $0.00 |
| PEI | $18.00 | $16.50 | -$1.50 |
By industry, Alberta wages increased in 10 of the 16 reported sectors. They decreased in 3 others and remained unchanged in the other 2.
| Mar 2024 | Mar 2025 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business, building & other support services | $22.00 | $25.00 | $3.00 |
| Utilities | $53.13 | $56.00 | $2.87 |
| Wholesale & retail trade | $20.00 | $22.70 | $2.70 |
| Transportation & warehousing | $30.00 | $32.20 | $2.20 |
| Agriculture | $27.00 | $29.10 | $2.10 |
| Construction | $35.00 | $37.00 | $2.00 |
| Information, culture & recreation | $23.00 | $25.00 | $2.00 |
| Public administration | $43.75 | $45.00 | $1.25 |
| Other services (except public administration) | $25.00 | $25.48 | $0.48 |
| Finance, insurance, real estate, rental & leasing | $34.87 | $35.00 | $0.13 |
| Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil & gas | $50.00 | $50.00 | $0.00 |
| Accommodation & food services | $17.50 | $17.50 | $0.00 |
| Educational services | $35.71 | $35.00 | -$0.71 |
| Professional, scientific & technical services | $39.90 | $38.98 | -$0.92 |
| Health care & social assistance | $31.25 | $30.00 | -$1.25 |
| Manufacturing | $34.40 | $31.81 | -$2.59 |
Alberta saw its unemployment rate increased to 7.1%, up from the 6.7% it had been at for 3 months.
Alberta’s labour force also decreased last month, by 5,200. With having 15,400 fewer people actually working but only 5,000 fewer people available to work than in February, it makes sense that our unemployment rate grew.
As far as how it compares with the rest of the country, Alberta’s unemployment rate was the fourth highest, behind Newfoundland and Labrador, which was at 10.0%; Prince Edward Island, which was at 7.5%; and Ontario, which was at 7.5%.
Alberta was one of only 4 provinces that saw its unemployment rate increase, and its increase was the largest.
Canada saw a decrease in employment last month, with jobs across the country dropping by 32,600. Those losses were driven primarily by Ontario (-27,500) and Alberta (-15,400).
The national unemployment rate remained at 6.7%. That’s up slightly from 6.6% in February.
One reply on “AB lost over 30,000 full-time jobs in March 2025”
[…] net increase to jobs between last month and March was 15,000. The month before, we lost 15,400, so this doesn’t even break even. On top of that, Alberta lost 22,000 in the first 3 months of […]