The Province of Alberta has released new economic indicators for summer 2024, reflecting a mixed bag of economic activity throughout many sectors.

According to Statistics Canada and other Alberta government sources:

• Employment increased by 12,800 in August. Compared to a year ago, it was up by 49,800. The next release is on Oct. 11, 2024.
• The economic activity index decreased slightly in June, but was up 3.1 per cent from the year prior.
• Alberta’s unemployment rate was 7.7 per cent in Aug., up 2.0 percentage points from a year ago, and higher than the national average of 6.6 per cent.
• Alberta’s population was 4.85 million- a 4.4 per cent increase.
• Nearly 40,000 people moved to Alberta from other provinces, while over 103,000 moved internationally.
• Over 45,000 housing starts have been reported so far in 2024- a notable 49 per cent increase from the same period last year.
• There have been over 48,000 home sales reported so far in 2024- a 13.7 per cent increase from the same period last year.
• Over 2.52 million people are employed in the province, a 3.2 per cent year over year increase.
• There were 157 active drilling rigs in the province, a 16.3 per cent year over year increase.
• As for inflation, the consumer price index in Alberta increased 2.7 per cent y/y in July, down from 3.0 per cent y/y in June.
• Average weekly earnings in Alberta declined 0.2 per cent m/m to $1,330 in June. They were up 3.9 per cent year-over-year.

Earlier in the year, data shows there was growth in both renewable and non-renewable energy development.

• May 2024 saw a 36.2 per cent y/y increase in clean electricity generation.
• 760 new wells were drilled, a 7.5 per cent y/y increase.
• 9.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas was produced, an 11.3 per cent y/y increase.

Data comes from two publications: Alberta Economy: Indicators at a Glance and the Weekly Economic Review.