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“There are more than 15,000 unemployed Albertans in the educational services sector compared to one year ago after the UCP made brutal cuts to our education system in the middle of a pandemic. By rehiring these people, we can immediately get Albertans back to work, create a safer learning environment for students during the pandemic, and create a stronger economy for tomorrow,” Bilous said in a statement.
The 25,000 job increase in the Edmonton metropolitan area in July broke a four-month streak of losses, which the city’s acting chief economist Felicia Mutheardy said is a sign of recovery. The city’s labour force also continued to grow, adding 22,900 people.
“Given the severity of the pandemic’s negative impact on Edmonton’s labour market, the road to recovery is expected to be gradual and uneven. However, the turnaround in the region’s employment levels is welcome news, reinforced by the direction of provincial labour market indicators over the past two months,” Mutheardy said in a report published Friday.
Edmonton Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Janet Riopel called on all levels of government to support job-creating businesses in an effort to get the 122,200 unemployed residents in the Edmonton region to work.
“While today’s numbers are a step in the right direction, there are still over 120,000 people in our region who are looking for work and struggling to meet the needs of their families as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to devastate our community. We need all orders of government to continue supporting those job creators who are still trying to get back on their feet, so we can get our economy back on track,” she said in a statement.
