More than 28,000 new jobs were created in Alberta last month, making up more than half of the increased employment in the country — despite weak oil prices.

What’s just as impressive is Alberta’s unemployment rate, which has served as an anchor on the provincial economy this year, has not only budged but it’s rapidly falling, dropping from 7.8 per cent in October to 6.5 per cent last month.

Outside of the pandemic, when was the last time the province saw such a huge dip in the jobless rate?

Umm, never — at least not since comparable record-keeping began in 1976, noted ATB Financial chief economist Mark Parsons.

“It is very significant, and it’s reassuring for those who are struggling to look for work. What I am looking for is that it persists,” Parsons said Friday.

The unemployment ra

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