Across the country, over 30,000 jobs were lost in March alone and the unemployment rate rose to 6.7 per cent.
It all comes during a time when the world is still understanding the impact of American tariffs.
“Right now there’s just a lot of uncertainty out there,” said Richard Mueller, a professor in the department of economics at the University of Lethbridge.
“I was watching the DOW close five and a half percentage points less than yesterday,” he said on Friday.
“Over 10 per cent in two days now — which is unprecedented.”
While the markets react and thousands lose their jobs, Lethbridge managed to grow its employment while simultaneously growing its unemployment rate.
“The unemployment rate went up slightly, from 5.0 per cent to 5.1 per cent, which says more people are unemployed, but in fact, last month we added 400 jobs to the Lethbridge region,” said Trevor Lewington, CEO of Economic Development Lethbridge.
“The reason the unemployment rate went up, even though more people are employed, is more people entered the workforce.
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“There are more people actively looking for work, so that’s what tilts that number.”
The southern Alberta city isn’t immune to the impact of tariffs, however. Nearly 1,000 jobs have been lost in the manufacturing sector in Lethbridge since the start of January.
“The cost of steel, aluminum and vehicles is going to have an impact and there will be companies that have no choice but to reduce their labour force,” said Lewington.
For Mueller, it’s a reminder of the worst economic collapse in the modern age, which occurred nearly a century ago.
“We should learn from this. I mean, one of the things I teach is economic history and looking at the Great Depression and how that was exacerbated by something that’s going on right now,” Mueller said.
The Tariff Act of 1930, also known as the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act, was an American protectionist trade measure enacted by U.S. President Herbert Hoover.
It raised tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods in an effort to shield American industries from foreign competition during the onset of the Great Depression — but in the end, helped to worsen the economic problems of the day.
“We should learn from those lessons, I think,” Mueller said.
Despite fearing “things to get worse before they get better,” Mueller says he is optimistic the 2030s won’t repeat the 1930s.
“I think cooler heads are going to prevail — at least, I hope so.”
The optimism is shared by Lewington, who says Lethbridge is a shining star in an otherwise murky situation facing the nation.
“At a time when both the province and nationally we saw lots of jobs lost, for Lethbridge to buck that trend and see jobs gained is very reassuring.”
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