66K jobs lost in Alberta since last November, StatsCan reports

The Alberta economy lost 66,000 jobs from November last year to the same month this year, Statistics Canada reported Friday.

Employment declined for the second consecutive month from October to November, downalmost 15,000. More than 9,000 people became unemployed in the same period.

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Alberta's unemployment rate rose by0.4percentage points to7.0 per cent, the highest rate since April2010 as the energy slump continuesto take its toll.

Alberta posted the biggest decline in employment among the provinces and its unemployment rate sits at a five-year high.

Nationally, the economy lost 36,000jobs in November, pushing the unemployment rate up slightlyto 7.1per cent.

Jobs in the natural resources industryincluding oil and gas extraction as well as mining, quarrying and forestry took the biggest hit in the past year, with 26,400 jobs disappearing in that sector of the national economy.

Almost 69,000 jobs were created in the health care and social assistance sector across Canada. And the economy added more than 56,000 jobs in the professional, scientific and technical services sector.