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CES sees
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impact of
economy
Ken Gousseau “The sense I get is things are not too
Medicine Hat News awfully bad in Medicine Hat,” he says. “A

lot of that is attributable to our diversity
Although Medicine Hat hasn’t been as
and the fact that we were going full out in
hard hit by the economic downturn as
most sections of the economy, so a little tug
the rest of the country, a large number of
back from that is probably not unhealthy.”
workers in the city have been negatively Employment has held steady in Medicine
affected by the recent slowdown. Hat compared to the rest of the province
The number of local walk-in clients
and country, according Statistics Canada.
Community Employment Services serves Medicine Hat’s unemployment rate in
each month has doubled to more than January 2009 was four per cent, down
2,000. Many of those clients were laid from 4.6 per cent in January 2008. About
off or had their hours 1,800 fewer people were
cut back, says manager
“The unemployment
employed in January
Darren Lukasiewich.
rate is one of the
2009 compared to the
REGISTER TODAY FOR OUR
“A few months ago, you
same month in 2008.
would have a lot of job
lowest of the
Most of the jobs lost were
part-time positions.
ADMINISTRATIVE
seekers job hopping and
enjoying the free-for-
Alberta regions.”
Meanwhile, Alberta’s
TECHNOLOGIES DIPLOMA
all. Now, it’s an about average unemployment
face and employers rate was 4.4 per cent in
are in control of things as things have January 2009, compared to 3.3 per cent • Hands on Training
tightened up,” he says. “We have two four- in the same period in 2008. There were
by-eight job boards and a few months ago, 27,000 more people employed in Alberta • Instructor Led
they were both full. Now, it’s pretty slim in January 2009 than there was a year
pickings on them.” earlier.
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According to Lukasiewich, the construction “The unemployment rate (in Medicine
• Modular training with flexible start
and oil and gas industries have been hardest Hat) is one of the lowest of the Alberta
hit by the global economic recession, and regions,” says Statistics Canada analyst
dates
the retail and restaurant sectors have also Vincent Ferraro.
been impacted.
In the same period, the national
Modular home manufacturer Moduline unemployment rate was considerably
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Industries laid off its 110 plant employees higher by comparison at 7.2 per cent,
in the city and shut down production in an increase of 1.4 per cent from January
mid-December, according to general 2008.
information meeting
manager Shane Dehart.
About 133,000 people were employed in
"The economy is having a huge impact," the Medicine Hat and Lethbridge region
he says. "We went into 2008 with the same in January 2009, down from 134,800 in
mentality as 2007 - build as much as we January 2008.
can and go as fast as we can because we
“There are fewer people working, but
don't want to let anybody down on the
there’s also fewer people who were in
delivery end. We ended up stocking all of
the labour force, so that’s what held the
our retailers right full."
unemployment rate at about the same
The city as a whole has weathered the rate,” says Ferraro.
A division of Memory Lane Computer Training Inc.
economic storm relatively well compared
Nationally, 89,000 fewer people were
to the rest country, says Keith Crush,
employed in January 2009 than in the
the City of Medicine Hat’s business
121-1221 Kingsway Ave SE
same period in 2008.
development officer.
Ph 403-527-4382 • www.cypresscollege.ca
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