Is it hard to find a job in Calgary?

What do the latest numbers say?

Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey is the main official source. For the Calgary census metropolitan area, the three-month moving average for September 2026 shows:

• Unemployment rate: 6.3% (seasonally adjusted), down from 8.1% in September 2025
• People employed: about 1,052,500
• Employment rate (the share of the working-age population with a job): 66.8%
• For comparison, the monthly unemployment rate for September 2026 was 6.4% for Alberta and 6.5% for Canada (Statistics Canada, The Daily, 9 October 2026)

Which industries are hiring, and which are not?

The City of Calgary’s Labour Market Review for August 2026 compares employment in the Calgary economic region with a year earlier. The region added 53,700 jobs (up 5.0%), and full-time work made up 84.5% of employment, up from 83.5% a year before.

• Construction: up about 22,500 jobs (23.3%)
• Health care and social assistance: up about 22,500 jobs (17.3%)
• Public administration: up about 13,300 jobs
• Professional, scientific and technical services: down about 11,200 jobs (7.5%)
• Finance, insurance, real estate and leasing: down about 3,900 jobs
• Educational services: down about 3,500 jobs

Why has it got easier since last year?

Mainly because job growth has caught up with population growth. The City of Calgary’s August 2026 review says growth in the region’s working-age population slowed to 2.9%, from 4.6% a year earlier. That let new jobs catch up with the recent surge in people arriving. Employment grew faster than the labour force for the tenth month in a row, and the number of unemployed people in the region fell to about 80,600, from 86,800 a year earlier.

Calgary’s employment rate, the share of working-age people with a job, was 66.9% in August 2026 in the City’s figures. That is above its 10-year average of 65.8%, and above Alberta’s 10-year average of 64.9%.

Calgary is also doing better than Edmonton for now. Job Bank’s Alberta snapshot for August 2026 shows employment up 5.0% over the year in the Calgary economic region, against 3.1% in the Edmonton region. The regional unemployment rate (unadjusted) was 6.7% in Calgary and 7.6% in Edmonton.

How many jobs are open in Calgary?

Statistics Canada also surveys employers about vacancies they are actively trying to fill. In the second quarter of 2026, employers in the Calgary economic region reported 25,260 job vacancies, a job vacancy rate of 2.8%. A year earlier, in the second quarter of 2025, there were 26,920 vacancies and the rate was 3.1%.

The average hourly wage offered for those vacancies was $28.40, up from $27.10 a year earlier.

So there are slightly fewer open jobs than a year ago, while more people are working. That points to a market where employers can be choosy. A tailored application stands out more than a mass-mailed one.

Who finds it hardest to get hired?

Young people. The City of Calgary’s August 2026 review put the unemployment rate for 15 to 24 year olds in Calgary at 16.3%, an improvement of 2.8 percentage points on a year earlier, partly because the youth labour force shrank. Across Canada, Statistics Canada reported youth unemployment of 13.0% in September 2026.

People in office-based professional work. Professional, scientific and technical services was the industry that lost the most jobs in the Calgary region over the year to August 2026. If that is your field, expect a longer search and widen it to related roles.

Newcomers starting from scratch also have to build local references and contacts. Settlement agencies such as Centre for Newcomers and Calgary Catholic Immigration Society (CCIS) run free employment services in Calgary. Centre for Newcomers’ Career Development and Job Search service is for immigrant job seekers who are legally entitled to work in Canada.

What should you do with this information?

Use the numbers to decide where to aim, not whether to try. A 6.3% unemployment rate means most people who want work in Calgary have it.

• Look where jobs are growing: construction, health care and social assistance, and public administration grew most over the year to August 2026.
• Check real wages before you apply: Job Bank lists low, median and high wages for each occupation in the Calgary region.
• Bridge the gap: if your field is slow, a survival job keeps money coming in while you keep applying.
• Use free help: Alberta’s Employment and Training Services Directory lists free government-funded programs, and alis has free job search guides.