Job vacancies soar in Alberta, led by surge in energy sector

The number of job vacancies in Alberta rose by 8,500 in the second quarter compared to the same period last year, Statistics Canada says.

The spike marks the second report in a row of year-over-year increases for the province, the agency said in a release on Thursday.

There were 50,925 job openings in Alberta from April to June, compared with 42,465 a year earlier, Statistics Canada says.

There were 42,845 vacancies in the first quarter of this year.

The largest increases in vacancies were in:

• Mining, quarrying and oil and gas, with 1,300 new vacancies.
• Construction, with 1,300 new vacancies.
• Manufacturing, with 1,100 new vacancies.

Alberta's job vacancy rate rose from 2.2 per cent to 2.6 per cent a year earlier.

The most notable increases were seen in the Calgary, Banff-Jasper-Rocky Mountain House and Athabasca-Grande Prairie-Peace River areas, Statistics Canada said.

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