Alberta is on track to hit a staggering 25 per cent unemployment rate as businesses continue to shed jobs amid the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with historically low oil prices, Premier Jason Kenney said Tuesday. If that happens, it would mark the highest unemployment rate in any Canadian province since modern records began. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the highest rate recorded by Statistics Canada since 1976 was in Newfoundland and Labrador, which hit 22.7 per cent unemployment in September 1984. Alberta's highest unemployment rate to date was 12.4 per cent, also in September 1984. Kenney said his government is taking action to try to help companies in Alberta navigate the current economic storm.

Source: CBC News April 07, 2020 17:26 UTC