Much like the rest of the country, Lloydminster and the surrounding areas saw more job losses in the past month.
The unemployment rate rose on both sides of the border as Statistics Canada released the new figures accounting for a full month affected by the pandemic.
In the Camrose-Drumheller area which covers the Alberta side of Lloydminster, the unemployment rate increased to 9.3 per cent in April. Last month didn’t completely account for the COVID-19 impact and showed the rate at 7.5 per cent not adjusted for seasonal employment.
On the Saskatchewan side of Lloydminster, the unemployment rate saw a similar jump up to 7.2 per cent in the Prince Albert and Northern area. In March, the rate remained relatively unchanged at 5.6 per cent.
Province-wide, Saskatchewan’s unemployment rate was 11.3 per cent while in Alberta it was 13.4 per cent for the month of April. The national unemployment rose to 13 per cent which is a sharp increase from last month’s 7.8 per cent.