OTTAWA: Overall Canadian employment was virtually unchanged in January, despite more cuts in the Alberta oil sands, while the unemployment rate edged up to 7.2 percent, the government statistical agency said Friday.
A total 5,700 jobs were shed nationwide, according to Statistics Canada.
In Alberta, 10,000 jobs were lost, pushing the province's unemployment rate higher than the national average for the first time since December 1988, the agency said.
Ontario, the nation's manufacturing hub, meanwhile, was the only province for the second month in a row to see employment growth, up 20,000.
Analysts were expecting a small uptick in new jobs.
Canada-wide, more people were working in the information, culture and recreation sectors, but employment declined in agriculture, manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, and public administration.
Canada's economy exited a short recession in the third quarter but remains fragile because of low prices for oil and raw materials, and debt-heavy households are spending less.
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