August job numbers: Minister Schweitzer

“Building on July’s encouraging job numbers, Alberta saw 20,000 new jobs in August, with consecutive months of job growth across many sectors of the economy. Our unemployment rate is now the lowest it has been in 18 months. With new investments in tech, film, energy, agriculture and more, Alberta’s Recovery Plan is creating jobs and diversifying the economy while building for the future.

“Just this month, we saw announcements from Imperial Oil of a new hydrogen refinery and a joint hydrogen facility from Mitsubishi and Shell in our province, solidifying our lead as a global leader in hydrogen development.

“August’s job numbers confirm projections that Alberta will lead Canada in economic growth this year and next. Just this week, the Conference Board of Canada reaffirmed their projection that Alberta will lead Canada in growth this year and next year.

“We know there is still more work to do and government will remain focused on economic recovery and job creation. With our capital plan creating tens of thousands of jobs and oilsands production rising more than eight per cent in the first half of the year, exceeding 2019 levels and non-energy investment returning to 2019 levels this year, Alberta has a bright future.”