Calgary suffered from the highest unemployment rate in the country in August for a second consecutive month.
Statistic Canada’s August 2020 Labour Force Survey shows that unemployment in the city was a startling 14.4% in August due to the crushing effect the coronavirus pandemic has had on Alberta’s economy.
While slightly lower than July’s 15.5%, Calgary’s rate remained the worst out of 34 different cities in Canada.
The numbers stress the importance of a jobs-focused recovery, Alberta Jobs, Economy and Innovation Minister Doug Schweitzer said to Global News.
“With those numbers that we see today, it just drives home the urgency as to why we created this new Ministry of Jobs, Economy and Innovation and why we’ve put the responsibility of the recovery plan into this new beefed-up ministry that has additional responsibility,” Schweitzer said.
“If you’ve been dealt a tough card with respect to the oil crash, as well as with this pandemic… we’re going to come back faster than any other jurisdiction in the country. The one thing that Albertans do better than anyone else is move quickly.”
Earlier this year, True North released an investigative documentary titled Calgary in Crisis to highlight the struggles Calgarians have had to deal with financially and socially.
The documentary contains exclusive interviews by True North founder Candice Malcolm with Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, and Dragon’s Den star Brett Wilson, among others.
