Red Deer’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose 0.8 percentage points to 7.4% in June, based on Statistics Canada’s three-month moving average.
A loss of about 100 jobs and a labour-force increase of 400 pushed the rate higher, even as more people entered the job market.
Among Alberta’s four tracked regions, Red Deer posted the highest unemployment rate; Edmonton was at 7.2%, Calgary 7.1% and Lethbridge 5.5%.
Alberta’s overall unemployment rate was tied with Ontario for the fourth-highest in Canada, while the national rate edged down 0.1 point to 6.5%.
Provincewide, June employment rose by 6,800 and the labour force grew by 20,200, with gains concentrated in private-sector jobs and industries including retail and construction.