The federal government released their June 2026 job numbers last week, and job numbers are up in Alberta.
The net increase to jobs between May and last month was 7,800.
Gender & age
Among workers 25 years of age and older, women saw the larger increase between May and June. There were 4,000 more women over 25 at work last month compared to May. Those numbers increase to a gain of 9,100 if you include those who are 15–24 years old.
Men, however, saw a decrease of 3,800 in the number of those 25 years old and older finding new work compared to those working in April. When you add in the younger cohort, it improves to a 1,300 loss.
Statistics Canada provided no data on non-binary or intersex workers.
Speaking of age, Alberta had the second fewest older people as a percentage of the total workforce last month, compared to the other provinces.
| 55+ | All ages | 55+ as % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| NL | 56,400 | 243,800 | 23.13% |
| NB | 90,800 | 406,000 | 22.36% |
| PEI | 21,200 | 96,600 | 21.95% |
| NS | 115,300 | 533,300 | 21.62% |
| BC | 629,300 | 2,936,900 | 21.43% |
| QC | 958,400 | 4,606,500 | 20.81% |
| ON | 1,716,500 | 8,273,000 | 20.75% |
| SK | 123,400 | 616,700 | 20.01% |
| AB | 489,500 | 2,677,300 | 18.28% |
| MB | 133,700 | 749,700 | 17.83% |
Compared to other provinces
Here’s how Alberta’s job numbers compare to the other provinces:
| May 2026 | June 2026 | Change | % change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QC | 4,592,200 | 4,606,500 | 14,300 | 0.31% |
| BC | 2,929,100 | 2,936,900 | 7,800 | 0.27% |
| AB | 2,670,500 | 2,677,300 | 6,800 | 0.25% |
| NS | 528,500 | 533,300 | 4,800 | 0.91% |
| SK | 613,800 | 616,700 | 2,900 | 0.47% |
| NL | 243,200 | 243,800 | 600 | 0.25% |
| MB | 749,600 | 749,700 | 100 | 0.01% |
| PEI | 96,700 | 96,600 | -100 | -0.10% |
| NB | 408,100 | 406,000 | -2,100 | -0.51% |
| ON | 8,289,700 | 8,273,000 | -16,700 | -0.20% |
Alberta had the third largest increase in jobs among all the provinces who gained jobs, with 6,800 jobs gained, as I mentioned earlier. This is half the number of new jobs generated in May. Only Québec and British Columbia had larger gains: over 14,000 and nearly 8,000, respectively.
Ontario lost over 16,700 jobs, the largest loss in the country.
On a percentage basis, Alberta was in second place, behind Prince Edward Island.
By industry
Only 9 job sectors in Alberta actually saw an increase in jobs in June. Of those, “wholesale and retail trade” had the highest gains: 4,800.
Most of the remaining sectors reported by Statistics Canada saw job losses, with the “transportation and warehousing” sector losing the most, at 3,800 jobs:
| Transportation & warehousing | -3,800 |
| Utilities | -1,900 |
| Manufacturing | -1,800 |
| Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil & gas | -900 |
| Information, culture & recreation | -900 |
| Agriculture | -300 |
Combined, these 6 industries lost 9,600 jobs.
The “accomodation and food services” sector was unchanged, with the same number of people employed last month as their were in May.
Compared to a year ago, the industry with the highest job gains was “health care and social assistance”, increasing by nearly 55,000 jobs, a jump of 16.37%.
The“forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas” sector saw the largest decrease over the last year, losing 6,700 jobs, which was over 4.5% of its total workforce.
| Jun 2025 | Jun 2026 | Change | % change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care & social assistance | 333,500 | 388,100 | 54,600 | 16.37% |
| Public administration | 126,600 | 141,100 | 14,500 | 11.45% |
| Wholesale & retail trade | 365,600 | 372,700 | 7,100 | 1.94% |
| Other services (except public administration) | 93,200 | 99,500 | 6,300 | 6.76% |
| Accommodation & food services | 154,400 | 157,800 | 3,400 | 2.20% |
| Construction | 263,300 | 266,600 | 3,300 | 1.25% |
| Utilities | 20,400 | 21,700 | 1,300 | 6.37% |
| Agriculture | 38,900 | 40,000 | 1,100 | 2.83% |
| Business, building & other support services | 83,900 | 84,700 | 800 | 0.95% |
| Professional, scientific & technical services | 243,200 | 243,700 | 500 | 0.21% |
| Transportation & warehousing | 152,400 | 151,900 | -500 | -0.33% |
| Manufacturing | 152,600 | 151,600 | -1,000 | -0.66% |
| Educational services | 174,900 | 173,500 | -1,400 | -0.80% |
| Information, culture & recreation | 100,100 | 98,500 | -1,600 | -1.60% |
| Finance, insurance, real estate, rental & leasing | 148,900 | 145,500 | -3,400 | -2.28% |
| Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil & gas | 147,100 | 140,400 | -6,700 | -4.55% |
Private & public sector
The report from Statistics Canada also shows that Alberta’s private sector grew by 12,200 between May and June. There were 55,900 more private-sector jobs as there were this time last year, however.
In comparison, public sector jobs were down by 4,100 over May, yet Alberta had 19,500 more public sector workers compared to June 2025.
Self employed jobs were down by 1,500 over May but up by 2,900 over June 2025.
Part-time & full-time jobs
Part-time jobs grew last month. Alberta gaines 11,300 part-time jobs (seasonally adjusted) between May and June, nearly making up for the 11,800 part-time jobs lost in April.
In contrast, Alberta lost 4,400 full-time jobs during the same period.
Alberta has seen a net gain of 55,900 full-time jobs during the first 6 months of 2026, which works out to an average of 9,317 per month.
These full-time losses last month were all men workers (13,300), with 8,900 more women working full-time. For part-time jobs, it was a loss for women (700) and a gain for men (12,000).
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 2,211,300. That means that there are 324,600 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 82.59%, so the percentage of Alberta workers being employed in full-time positions has also increased; although it is down from 82.97% in May and 82.84% in June 2025.
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, March, May, and June have been the only months in 2026 where it passed that mark.
Wages
Speaking of full-time jobs, median wages for full-time workers in Alberta decreased by 38¢an hour to $34.62 an hour last month, down from $35.00 in May and $36.06 in April. This is its lowest level since August 2025.
Part-time hourly wages, however, increasing by $1, climbing to $20 an hour—where it was in March and April—from $19 an hour.
The median hourly wage for both full-time and part-time jobs shrunk to $32.00, down 41¢ from $32.41 in May. The last time it was this low was last November.
Alberta had the second highest median hourly wage of all the provinces, behind BC, where they have been 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.
In May they were 49¢ an hour behind BC. Last month, however, they were a full $1 an hour behind them. BC’s median hourly wage for both full-time and part-time wages has been $33 for 7 of the last 9 months.
Ontario’s median hourly wage for all workers was $31.92, just 8¢ behind Alberta’s.
Speaking of which, Alberta had the third highest median full-time hourly wage in June 2026, $1.00 behind BC and tied with Ontario.
| BC | $35.71 |
| ON | $34.86 |
| AB | $34.62 |
| QC | $33.00 |
| SK | $31.80 |
| NL | $30.00 |
| NS | $30.00 |
| NB | $29.00 |
| MB | $28.74 |
| PEI | $28.21 |
Alberta was the only province to see a decrease in median hourly wages for full-time workers over the past 12 months.
| June 2025 | June 2026 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| PEI | $26.00 | $28.21 | $2.21 |
| SK | $30.00 | $31.80 | $1.80 |
| NS | $28.50 | $30.00 | $1.50 |
| ON | $33.85 | $34.86 | $1.01 |
| QC | $32.00 | $33.00 | $1.00 |
| NB | $28.00 | $29.00 | $1.00 |
| MB | $27.87 | $28.74 | $0.87 |
| BC | $34.87 | $35.71 | $0.84 |
| NL | $30.00 | $30.00 | $0.00 |
| AB | $35.00 | $34.62 | -$0.38 |
For part-time workers, Alberta was tied with PEI, Québec, and Ontario for the second-highest median hourly wage last month, up from fourth-highest in April.
| BC | $22.00 |
| PEI | $20.00 |
| QC | $20.00 |
| ON | $20.00 |
| AB | $20.00 |
| NS | $19.00 |
| MB | $19.00 |
| SK | $19.00 |
| NL | $18.40 |
| NB | $18.00 |
Alberta was one of 3 provinces where part-time workers were making as much last month as they were a year ago.
| Jun 2025 | Jun 2026 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ON | $19.00 | $20.00 | $1.00 |
| NS | $18.00 | $19.00 | $1.00 |
| NL | $18.00 | $18.40 | $0.40 |
| QC | $19.70 | $20.00 | $0.30 |
| PEI | $19.75 | $20.00 | $0.25 |
| SK | $18.75 | $19.00 | $0.25 |
| BC | $22.00 | $22.00 | $0.00 |
| AB | $20.00 | $20.00 | $0.00 |
| NB | $18.00 | $18.00 | $0.00 |
| MB | $19.09 | $19.00 | -$0.09 |
By industry, Alberta wages increased in 7 of the 16 reported sectors since May. They remained unchanged in 2 and decreased in the other 7.
| May 2026 | Jun 2026 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional, scientific & technical services | $40.00 | $44.54 | $4.54 |
| Wholesale & retail trade | $22.05 | $23.00 | $0.95 |
| Manufacturing | $37.00 | $37.78 | $0.78 |
| Transportation & warehousing | $32.50 | $33.08 | $0.58 |
| Other services (except public administration) | $26.00 | $26.15 | $0.15 |
| Accommodation & food services | $17.50 | $17.55 | $0.05 |
| Business, building & other support services | $24.00 | $24.04 | $0.04 |
| Construction | $35.00 | $35.00 | $0.00 |
| Information, culture & recreation | $25.00 | $25.00 | $0.00 |
| Agriculture | $25.00 | $24.00 | -$1.00 |
| Public administration | $50.51 | $49.44 | -$1.07 |
| Health care & social assistance | $31.09 | $30.00 | -$1.09 |
| Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil & gas | $51.28 | $50.00 | -$1.28 |
| Educational services | $40.38 | $38.86 | -$1.52 |
| Finance, insurance, real estate, rental & leasing | $37.11 | $34.62 | -$2.49 |
| Utilities | $60.00 | $53.85 | -$6.15 |
Unemployment rate
Alberta saw its unemployment rate rise from 6.6% in May to 7.0% last month. In June 2025, it was 6.8%.
Alberta’s labour force increased last month, by 20,200. With having 6,800 more people actually working and but 20,200 more available to work than in May, it makes sense that our unemployment rate increased.
As far as how it compares with the rest of the country, Alberta’s unemployment rate was the fourth highest, behind Newfoundland and Labrador (8.2%), PEI (7.6%), and New Brunswick (73%). Ontario was also at 7.0%.
Of the 3 provinces that saw their unemployment rates increase last month, Alberta had the smallest decrease.
Canada saw an increase in employment last month, with jobs across the country rising by 18,200. Those gains were driven primarily by BC (7,800), Albert( 6,800), and Nova Scotia (4,800).
The national unemployment rate shrunk to 6.5% from 6.6% in May.
Alberta’s youth (15–24) unemployment rate was the 2nd highest in the country, up from 5th highest in May. It was also higher than the national average of 12.7%.
| NL | 16.8 |
| AB | 15.8 |
| ON | 14.2 |
| NB | 14.0 |
| BC | 12.9 |
| PEI | 12.7 |
| MB | 12.0 |
| SK | 11.1 |
| NS | 10.5 |
| QC | 8.2 |
Alberta was one of just 3 provinces who saw their youth unemployment rate increase last month. Of those 3, Alberta had the largest increase.
| May 2026 | June 2026 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AB | 15.0 | 15.8 | 0.8 |
| MB | 11.4 | 12.0 | 0.6 |
| QC | 8.1 | 8.2 | 0.1 |
| PEI | 13.0 | 12.7 | -0.3 |
| ON | 15.3 | 14.2 | -1.1 |
| NB | 15.2 | 14.0 | -1.2 |
| NL | 18.7 | 16.8 | -1.9 |
| SK | 13.2 | 11.1 | -2.1 |
| BC | 15.3 | 12.9 | -2.4 |
| NS | 13.7 | 10.5 | -3.2 |
However, a year ago, we had the highest youth unemployment rate in the country, so we are still in better shape than we were last June.
| Jun 2025 | Jun 2026 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| QC | 11.4 | 8.2 | -3.2 |
| NS | 13.5 | 10.5 | -3.0 |
| ON | 15.8 | 14.2 | -1.6 |
| NB | 15.3 | 14.0 | -1.3 |
| SK | 12.1 | 11.1 | -1.0 |
| AB | 16.3 | 15.8 | -0.5 |
| NL | 16.9 | 16.8 | -0.1 |
| MB | 12.0 | 12.0 | 0.0 |
| BC | 12.9 | 12.9 | 0.0 |
| PEI | 8.8 | 12.7 | 3.9 |
