The federal government released their February 2025 job numbers yesterday, and job numbers are down in Alberta. This is the second month in a row that jobs in the province declined.
The net decrease to jobs between last month and January was 2,200.
Among workers 25 years of age and older, women saw the largest decrease between January and February. There were 2,000 fewer women over 25 at work last month compared to January. Those numbers improve slightly to a loss of 1,800 if you include those who are 15–24 years old.
Men, however, saw an increase of 5,000 in 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 500 decrease.
Statistics Canada provided no data on non-binary or intersex workers.
Here’s how Alberta’s job numbers compare to the other provinces:
| Jan 2025 | Feb 2025 | Change | % change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ON | 8,240,400 | 8,257,300 | 16,900 | 0.21% |
| MB | 731,100 | 732,000 | 900 | 0.12% |
| SK | 606,400 | 606,900 | 500 | 0.08% |
| NL | 243,100 | 242,700 | -400 | -0.16% |
| PEI | 94,300 | 93,800 | -500 | -0.53% |
| NB | 402,900 | 401,400 | -1,500 | -0.37% |
| AB | 2,568,400 | 2,566,200 | -2,200 | -0.09% |
| QC | 4,635,600 | 4,632,200 | -3,400 | -0.07% |
| NS | 527,200 | 522,900 | -4,300 | -0.82% |
| BC | 2,944,000 | 2,939,200 | -4,800 | -0.16% |
Ontario saw the single largest increase in jobs among all the provinces, with 16,900 jobs added. In fact, it was one of only 3 provinces that saw an increase.
Among the provinces that saw decreases, Alberta’s loss of 2,200 jobs was smack dab in the middle, with 3 higher than that and 3 lower.
On a percentage basis, Alberta had the second smallest loss, at less than a tenth of a percent.
8 industries in Alberta actually saw an increase in jobs in February. Of those, “accommodation and food services” had the highest gains: 8,700. Making up for the 5,400 they lost the month before.
The 8 remaining sectors reported by Statistics Canada saw job losses, with the “0ther services (except public administration)” sector losing the most, at 8,200 jobs:
| Other services (except public administration) | -8,200 |
| Business, building and other support services | -7,700 |
| Manufacturing | -6,900 |
| Health care and social assistance | -5,400 |
| Finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing | -2,400 |
| Agriculture | -700 |
| Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas | -700 |
| Transportation and warehousing | -300 |
Combined, these 8 industries lost 23,200 jobs.
Compared to a year ago, the industry with the highest job gains was “health care and social assistance”, increasing by over 18,000 jobs, a jump of nearly 6%.
The “business, building and other support services” sector saw the largest decrease over the last year, losing 11,500 jobs, which was over 13%.
| Jan 2024 | Jan 2025 | Change | % change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care & social assistance | 314,900 | 333,300 | 18,400 | 5.84% |
| Construction | 248,900 | 266,700 | 17,800 | 7.15% |
| Accommodation & food services | 139,100 | 155,100 | 16,000 | 11.50% |
| Professional, scientific & technical services | 238,000 | 247,400 | 9,400 | 3.95% |
| Finance, insurance, real estate, rental & leasing | 132,000 | 139,800 | 7,800 | 5.91% |
| Information, culture & recreation | 81,100 | 87,400 | 6,300 | 7.77% |
| Public administration | 120,600 | 125,600 | 5,000 | 4.15% |
| Manufacturing | 146,200 | 150,300 | 4,100 | 2.80% |
| Educational services | 165,500 | 167,000 | 1,500 | 0.91% |
| Wholesale & retail trade | 369,400 | 370,800 | 1,400 | 0.38% |
| Transportation & warehousing | 148,000 | 148,600 | 600 | 0.41% |
| Utilities | 21,000 | 20,300 | -700 | -3.33% |
| Agriculture | 39,700 | 38,300 | -1,400 | -3.53% |
| Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil & gas | 148,200 | 141,400 | -6,800 | -4.59% |
| Other services (except public administration) | 105,600 | 97,600 | -8,000 | -7.58% |
| Business, building & other support services | 88,300 | 76,800 | -11,500 | -13.02% |
The report from Statistics Canada also shows that Alberta’s private sector shrunk by 4,000 between January and February. However, there were 49,500 more private-sector jobs than this time last year.
In contrast, public sector jobs were up by 3,100 over January, and Alberta had 13,900 more public sector workers compared to February 2024. This marks 4 months in a row that public sector jobs outperformed private sector jobs.
Self employed jobs were down by 1,400 over January and down by 3,700 over February 2024.
Part-time jobs shrunk last month. Alberta lost 18,100 part-time jobs (seasonally adjusted) between January and February. It gained 15,900 full-time jobs during the same period. However, we lost 21,400 full-time jobs the month before, so we’re not out of the woods yet.
These full-time gains were mostly women workers (8,100), with a still substantial 7,800 more men working full-time. The part-time jobs were a loss for men (-5,500) and women (3,100).
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 2,114,900. That means that there are 228,200 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 82.41%, 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 January, at $34.62. This is also where full-time wages sat at in October and November.
Part-time wages, however, had dropped a full $1 from $20.00. It was at $19 an hour for half of the months in 2024.
The median wage for both full-time and part-time jobs remained unchanged from January at $31.25 an hour, which is where it was in December, too.
Alberta had the third highest median full-time hourly wage in February 2025, behind British Columbia and Ontario.
| BC | $35.00 |
| ON | $34.76 |
| AB | $34.62 |
| QC | $33.00 |
| SK | $31.50 |
| NL | $30.41 |
| NS | $29.30 |
| NB | $29.05 |
| PEI | $28.85 |
| MB | $28.72 |
Alberta had the fourth smallest increase in median hourly wages for full-time wages over the past 12 months, down from third place in January.
| Feb 2024 | Feb 2025 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| NB | $27.00 | $29.05 | $2.05 |
| PEI | $27.00 | $28.85 | $1.85 |
| NS | $28.00 | $29.30 | $1.30 |
| ON | $33.52 | $34.76 | $1.24 |
| QC | $31.79 | $33.00 | $1.21 |
| BC | $33.87 | $35.00 | $1.13 |
| AB | $33.65 | $34.62 | $0.97 |
| NL | $29.59 | $30.41 | $0.82 |
| MB | $28.00 | $28.72 | $0.72 |
| SK | $31.00 | $31.50 | $0.50 |
Things are less rosy for part-time workers in Alberta, falling behind BC ($22) and Québec ($20) and tying with Saskatchewan and Ontario.
| BC | $23.00 |
| QC | $20.00 |
| SK | $19.00 |
| ON | $19.00 |
| AB | $19.00 |
| NL | $18.00 |
| NS | $18.00 |
| MB | $18.00 |
| NB | $17.50 |
| PEI | $17.00 |
As well, 6 provinces have seen an increase in the median hourly wage for part-time workers since last February. Alberta wasn’t one of them.
| Feb 2024 | Feb 2025 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| BC | $21.00 | $23.00 | $2.00 |
| SK | $17.45 | $19.00 | $1.55 |
| ON | $18.00 | $19.00 | $1.00 |
| NL | $17.00 | $18.00 | $1.00 |
| NS | $17.00 | $18.00 | $1.00 |
| MB | $17.00 | $18.00 | $1.00 |
| QC | $20.00 | $20.00 | $0.00 |
| AB | $19.00 | $19.00 | $0.00 |
| NB | $18.00 | $17.50 | -$0.50 |
| PEI | $18.00 | $17.00 | -$1.00 |
By industry, Alberta wages increased in 11 of the 16 reported sectors. They decreased in the remaining 5.
| Feb 2024 | Feb 2025 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utilities | $52.40 | $56.00 | $3.60 |
| Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil & gas | $50.00 | $53.00 | $3.00 |
| Finance, insurance, real estate, rental & leasing | $32.00 | $35.00 | $3.00 |
| Agriculture | $26.00 | $28.85 | $2.85 |
| Transportation & warehousing | $30.00 | $32.00 | $2.00 |
| Other services (except public administration) | $25.00 | $27.00 | $2.00 |
| Wholesale & retail trade | $20.00 | $21.50 | $1.50 |
| Manufacturing | $30.00 | $31.00 | $1.00 |
| Business, building & other support services | $24.00 | $25.00 | $1.00 |
| Information, culture & recreation | $22.50 | $22.96 | $0.46 |
| Public administration | $45.00 | $45.02 | $0.02 |
| Educational services | $36.00 | $35.69 | -$0.31 |
| Construction | $36.92 | $36.00 | -$0.92 |
| Accommodation & food services | $18.50 | $17.50 | -$1.00 |
| Health care & social assistance | $31.25 | $29.00 | -$2.25 |
| Professional, scientific & technical services | $43.27 | $40.87 | -$2.40 |
Alberta saw its unemployment rate remain unchanged at 6.7%, where it’s now been for 3 months.
Alberta’s labour force also decreased last month, by 1,100. With having 2,200 fewer people actually working but 1,100 fewer people available to work than in January, it makes sense that our unemployment rate didn’t budge.
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 10.5%; Prince Edward Island, which was at 7.8%; New Brunswick, which was at 7.5%; and Ontario, which was at 7.3%.
Alberta was one of 4 provinces that saw its unemployment rate remain unchanged. Three provinces saw their rate increase, and all the rest saw a decrease in their jobless rate.
Canada saw an increase in employment last month, with jobs across the country rising by just 1,100. Those gains were driven primarily by Ontario (16,900).
The national unemployment rate remained at 6.6%. It was also up from 5.9% last January.
