Alberta’s economy saw some changes over the past month, including a higher Consumer Price Index, and large population growth.

According to Statistics Canada, and other Alberta government sources.

Among the changes:

• Employment decreased by 3,200 jobs in March. Compared to a year ago, it was up by 82,800 jobs.
• Average weekly earnings in Alberta rose 0.6 per cent to $1,298 in Jan. They were up 2.5 per cent year-over-year.
• Alberta goods exports decreased 12 per cent month-over-month in Feb. to $13.5 billion. Moreover, they were down 2.1 per cent from a year ago.
• The number of home sales in the resale market was down 2.1 per cent month-over-month to 6,827 units in Feb. and was up 25 per cent year-over-year
• The number of rigs drilling in Alberta averaged 145 in March, down 5.4 per cent from a year ago.
• Alberta’s retail sales decreased 0.6 per cent month-over-month to $8.5 billion in Jan. Compared to a year ago, sales were down 1.4 per cent.

The report also indicated that inflation is up slightly.

• The consumer price index in Alberta increased 4.2 per cent year-over-year in February, up from 3.4 per cent year-over-year in January. The data shows a large population increase in the province.

• Alberta’s population was 4,800,768 as of Jan. 1, 2024, an increase of 4.4 per cent from the year prior. During the last 12 months, Alberta welcomed 130,870 net international migrants and saw a net inflow of 55,107 interprovincial migrants.

According to the latest available data, the unemployment rate for the Rocky Mountain House region was 4.8 per cent.

The province says the data comes from two weekly publications: Alberta Economy: Indicators at a Glance and the Weekly Economic Review.