New Brunswick lost 2,400 jobs in January and saw the unemployment rate drift upward to 9.9 per cent.

Statistics Canada reported there were 3,200 more full-time jobs in the province in January, but 5,600 fewer part-time jobs.

The labour force, which is a measure of all those working or actively looking for work, declined by 2,000.

The increase of 0.2 of a percentage point marked the second straight monthly increase in the unemployment rate in New Brunswick.

New Brunswick's unemployment rate climbed to 9.9 per cent in January. (iStock) The unemployment rate of 9.9 per cent is 1.3 percentage points lower than the rate in January 2013, with about the same number of people working. The lower figure for January 2014 is a result of fewer people searching for work, said Statistics Canada.

New Brunswick's unemployment rate remains the third highest in the country, behind the 12 per cent rate in Newfoundland and 11.3 per cent in Prince Edward Island. Nova Scotia's unemployment rate stands at 8.6 per cent.

Nova Scotia's rate fell by 0.6 percentage points in January while PEI's was down 0.2 percentage points.

Nationally, the unemployment rate declined 0.2 percentage points to 7 per cent.