Alberta’s unemployment largely unchanged in May, Red Deer sees notable drop

New data shows that unemployment has climbed across the country and here in Alberta, and young people make up one of the hardest-hit categories.

Alberta’s unemployment rate was little changed in May, while Red Deer saw a massive decline.

Statistics Canada released its May 2025 Labour Force Survey on Friday, which showed Alberta’s jobless rate sitting at 7.4 per cent, up slightly from 7.1 per cent in April.

Looking at Alberta cities, Calgary’s unemployment rate increased to 7.8 per cent last month, compared to 7.4 per cent the month prior.

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“Calgary continues to show relative resilience,” said Kate Koplovich, director of strategy at Calgary Economic Development. “While our unemployment rate has edged up, it remains below last year’s level and we continue to lead the country with the highest labour force participation rate.”

Edmonton’s unemployment rate was unchanged in May, sitting at 7.3 per cent.

In Red Deer, unemployment plummeted two percentage points to 6.2 per cent from 8.2 per cent the month before.

Lethbridge’s jobless rate was 5.2 per cent in May, dipping slightly from 5.4 per cent in April.

The chief economist at ATB Financial says Alberta has seen rapid population growth, especially among young people.

“What that does is it just creates more competition if you’re going into the job market,” Mark Parsons said.

“We are seeing growth in areas like tech and food manufacturing that we haven’t seen and that’s providing an offset but if it feels slow that’s because things are slowing and we are starting to see the trade war manifest in hard economic data.

“If you talk to construction companies, they will say we need people and we’re short. So, the challenge will be, how do we get the people with the right skills to take advantage of opportunities that are in place in the labour market right now?”

Lethbridge youth struggling to find jobs

According to Statistics Canada, the national unemployment rate among returning students aged 15 to 24 was 20.1 per cent in May, an increase of 3.2 percentage points from May 2024.

In Lethbridge, some students are having trouble finding work, according to the University of Lethbridge Students Union (ULSU).

The group says it’s doing what it can to connect students with co-ops and paid internships.

“We can only offer so many, and there’s only so many entry-level positions that we can offer internally,” said Bradley Pike, ULSU vice president external. “We try our best to work with employers and get our students credentials that will get them a real job in the future.”

Youth employment services like 5th on 5th say they’re seeing more youth looking for help finding a job.

Many young jobs seekers are having an especially hard time getting their first job.

“Youth in particular are really looking to gain any type of advantage they can, whether it be through writing a resume or getting training courses,” said spokesperson Trevor Wagenvoort. “We’re referring a lot of people to Volunteer Lethbridge because young people haven’t gotten that first job opportunity.”

The national unemployment rate was 7.0 per cent in May.

The May Labour Force Survey examined the week of May 11 to 17, 2025.

With files from Stephanie Thomas and Quinn Keenan