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Not so long ago, Tony Valoroso had too much work. Indeed, the overwhelmed labourer quit his last job just to spend more time with his young family. Like many Calgarians, he didn’t think finding his next job would be difficult.

Now, two months later, he spends whole days scouring want ads for anything that will help pay the bills. Money is so tight that his longtime girlfriend had to take their son and move in with her mother.

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“I don’t think I have the time to care what kind of job I’m looking for,” the 28-year-old said.

“I’m fairly strong-minded, but I’m only human … It’s more than just not having money, it’s everything. We can’t do anything. I feel guilty just getting gas for my car because I feel like I should be saving what little money I have.”

Valoroso is one of many in Calgary hunting for work as Alberta’s unemployment rate rose for the third month straight in July, to six per cent.

The number of unemployed people in Alberta rose by about 8,700 in July, Statistics Canada reported Friday. That was coupled with a loss of 4,300 jobs in the province.