According to a new report from Statistics Canada, Alberta lost a lot of jobs in January of this year, with the unemployment rate in the province now extending beyond the national average.

The national unemployment rate is up just over a tenth of a point to 7.2 percent, with the huge losses in Alberta, Manitoba, and Newfoundland offset by big gains in Ontario.

The agency says that Alberta suffered a net decline of 22,000 full-time jobs in January with the bulk of that decrease concentrated in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors.

However, that drop was offset slightly by 11,900 part-time positions.

That decrease ended up pushing the provincial unemployment rate up to 7.4 percent from 7 percent last month, which is the highest level seen here since 1996.

The employment rate in Calgary and Edmonton also increased from December, with rates now sitting at 7.7 percent and 6.5 percent respectively.

CIBC chief economist Avery Shenfeld said the StatCan survey results amounted to a "weak report."

"Canada's job prospects are only just catching up to the malaise in the rest of the economy," Shenfeld wrote in a note to clients. "Not surprisingly, it's oil-centred Alberta where the bad news is hitting hardest."

Statistics Canada also released seasonally adjusted, three-month moving average unemployment rates for major cities but cautions the figures may fluctuate widely because they are based on small statistical samples. (Previous month in brackets.):

  • St. John's, N.L. 6.7 per cent (6.4)
  • Halifax 6.5 (6.2)
  • Moncton, N.B. 6.2 (6.2)
  • Saint John, N.B. 8.3 (7.9)
  • Saguenay, Que. 7.6 (7.4)
  • Quebec 5.2 (4.9)
  • Sherbrooke, Que. 6.6 (6.6)
  • Trois-Rivieres, Que. 7.3 (7.3)
  • Montreal 8.6 (8.7)
  • Gatineau, Que. 6.1 (6.0)
  • Ottawa 6.4 (6.3)
  • Kingston, Ont. 6.3 (6.4)
  • Peterborough, Ont. 6.7 (7.6)
  • Oshawa, Ont. 6.4 (6.9)
  • Toronto 7.1 (7.0)
  • Hamilton, Ont. 6.4 (5.9)
  • St. Catharines-Niagara, Ont. 8.6 (8.0)
  • Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo, Ont. 6.5 (6.4)
  • Brantford, Ont. 5.8 (4.9)
  • Guelph, Ont. 4.0 (4.2)
  • London, Ont. 5.8 (6.1)
  • Windsor, Ont. 9.3 (9.7)
  • Barrie, Ont. 6.4 (6.4)
  • Sudbury, Ont. 8.6 (8.4)
  • Thunder Bay, Ont. 6.5 (5.8)
  • Winnipeg 6.3 (6.2)
  • Regina 4.3 (4.2)
  • Saskatoon 6.1 (6.4)
  • Calgary 7.7 (7.0)
  • Edmonton 6.5 (6.3)
  • Kelowna, B.C. 7.6 (6.8)
  • Abbotsford, B.C. 7.3 (7.6)
  • Vancouver 5.7 (5.7)
  • Victoria 5.8 (6.1)

(With files from the Canadian Press)