Labour force

According to Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey (LFS), the Calgary region’s employment rate1 for the working age population of 15 years and older was 69.7% in 2010 and the participation rate2 was 74.8%.  By comparison, Alberta’s employment and participation rates were lower at 68.1% and 72.9%, respectively, in 2010.

The region’s unemployment rate rose to an estimated 6.7% in 2010, up from 6.6% in 2009.  This rate is slightly higher than the provincial average of 6.5% for 2010. 

Between 2009 and 2010, the number of people employed in Alberta declined by 0.4% or by 8,600, after a 1.4% decline in 2009, due to the global recession.  In 2010, employment in the Calgary region increased by an estimated 5,800.  The Calgary region made up 37% of Alberta’s working age population (15+ years). 

Between 2006 and 2010, the region’s working age population (15+) grew by 105,000, while employment rose by just over 27,000. 

Between census years 2001 and 2006, the number of people employed in Alberta grew by 14.7% or by 239,800.  Over the same period, employment in the Calgary region grew by an estimated 101,600 or 17.2%.  As the below table shows, employment increased in the region between the 2006 census and 2008, but was still lower in 2010 than in 2008. 


In 2006, the Calgary region made up 36.4% of Alberta’s working age population (15+ years), and the region’s increase in employment between 2001 and 2006 accounted for 40.5% of all new jobs created in Alberta over that period. 

According to the 2006 census, the level of educational attainment is higher for this region than for Alberta.  For the working age population of between 25 and 64 years, 56.1% had a post-secondary degree or diploma, higher than the 48.1% for all of Alberta.  However, the region does have a smaller share holding a trades certificate: 9.7% in the region vs. 12.4% in Alberta.  11.5% of the region’s working age population did not finish high school, lower than the Alberta average of 15.4%.

Employment Insurance Beneficiaries

In 2010, 17,110 people received regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits3 in the Calgary region, an 11% decrease from the 2009 number of 19,210 4.  Over the same period, the number of EI recipients fell by 9% in Alberta.  As a result, the region’s share of Alberta recipients fell to 36.1%. Between February 2010 and February 2011, the number of regular beneficiaries fell by an estimated 30% in the region.

The total number of income beneficiaries5 with both regular and special benefits, such as for sickness or parental leave, fell by 10% between 2009 and 2010.

Note: although this measure provides a useful gauge of unemployment it is an imperfect measure, as it excludes self-employed workers and individuals who were unemployed for more than 12 months.  At the Canadian level, the EI beneficiaries-to-unemployed ratio was fairly stable over time prior to the recession at between 40% and 45%. In Alberta, the ratio fell gradually during the economic boom years from more than 40% in 1996 to less than 25% in 2007 and the first nine months of 2008.  The ratio climbed to more than 40% in 2009 and was 36% in 2010.

Employment by Industry

In 2006, according to Statistics Canada’s census data, the services-producing sector in the Calgary region accounted for about 76% of the total number employed.  By comparison, the service sector accounted for 73% of Alberta’s employment.

The Professional, Scientific and Technical Services industry had the largest number of individuals employed.  This industry accounted for 11% of the region’s employment, compared with the industry’s 8% share at the provincial level.  It is dominated by engineering, architectural and computer services.  The region’s next largest industries in 2006 were the Retail Trade sector accounting for about 10% of regional employment and the Healthcare and Social Assistance and Construction sectors at about 8.5% each.

Between 2001 and 2006, the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services and Mining and Oil and Gas industries had the largest employment gains (up about 15,800 each).  The Mining and Oil and Gas industry’s gain was primarily the result of rising oil and gas output in the province (Calgary is the head office to most of Canada’s oil and gas extraction companies).  The Professional, Scientific and Technical Services’ increase was entirely due higher employment in engineering and architectural services. Employment declined in the Information and Cultural sector by just over 1,500.

According to the more up-to-date LFS estimates, employment in the Calgary region’s goods-producing sector increased sharply in 2010 by about 9,000 jobs after a loss of 21,500 jobs in the previous year.  Large employment gains were registered in the Construction and Manufacturing sectors.  Service sector employment declined by nearly 4,000 jobs in 2010, with the largest losses recorded in the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services, and Accommodation and Food Services industries.  The Retail Trade and Healthcare and Social Assistance industries recorded strong job gains in 2010.


1 The employment rate measures the proportion of the adult population that is employed. Employment Rate = (Employed / Population 15+)*100. High labour utilization traditionally accompanies strong economic activity.
2 The participation rate measures the proportion of the adult population that is in the labour force. Participation Rate = (Labour Force / Population 15+)*100. High labour participation is an effective indicator of the level of engagement among the working age population and traditionally accompanies strong economic activity.
3 The number of beneficiaries receiving regular benefits excludes claimants receiving training, job creation and self-employment benefits as well as other employment and support measures benefits.
4 Some of this increase was the result of Canada’s Economic Action Plan providing beneficiaries with five extra weeks of regular EI benefits in 2009 and 2010.
5 The number of beneficiaries receiving total income benefits includes both the beneficiaries receiving regular benefits and those receiving special benefits, such as for training, job creation, sickness, parental.



Date Updated:
RDP-2482