Alberta adds 23,000 jobs in September while Canada sheds 68,000; Calgary's employment rate highest among major cities

Alberta gained 23,000 jobs in September while Canada shed 68,000, a stark divergence that reflects provincial insulation from tariff impacts affecting Eastern Canada.

Alberta's employment rate rose from 64% to 64.5% in September. Year-over-year, the province added 76,000 jobs and claimed roughly 80% of all new jobs created across Canada over the past 12 months, despite holding only 13% of the national labour market. The unemployment rate dropped 0.4 percentage points to 6.4% and fell 1.3 points year-over-year.

Canada's second consecutive month of employment decline saw the national rate drop 0.2 percentage points to 60.6%, with unemployment rising 0.1 points to 6.5%.

Charles St-Arnaud, chief economist at Servus Credit Union, attributed Alberta's resilience to tariff geography. "It's a story of both Alberta doing well, but also a story of the rest of the country not doing well because of the tariffs," St-Arnaud said. Alberta faces an effective tariff rate of around 1%, while Quebec sits at 12% and Ontario at 10%. "It's clear that Alberta is a bit more insulated from all the negative impacts of the tariffs."

Calgary's labour market delivered the strongest result: 2,100 people entered the labour force in September, pushing the employment rate to 66.8%—the highest among Canada's major cities. The unemployment rate fell 0.4 points to 6.3%, 0.2 points lower than the national average and lower than Toronto, Edmonton, and Ottawa-Gatineau.

Alberta's population growth rate of 1.5% also outpaces the national rate of around 0.5%, signalling sustained migration to the province.

Oil and gas optimism has not yet translated to hiring. Higher oil prices and pipeline deals underway have not generated direct employment impact in the sector. "We can expect that, in the medium term, we're going to start seeing that, but so far, higher oil prices have not translated into higher jobs in that sector," St-Arnaud said.

Refendum uncertainty—Alberta faces a separation vote October 19—has had minimal effect on the labour market so far. "There might have been a marginal slowing since the start of the discussions the referendum was announced, but I would say it's pretty mild, if anything," St-Arnaud said. A second referendum, if held, would "jump up very quickly" the level of uncertainty and could crimp hiring.