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The second half of 2016 will fail to bring much relief to a sour provincial economy, new economic forecasts revealed Tuesday, while noting the energy and housing markets show mild signs of recovery.

The latest quarterly outlook from ATB Financial offered another gloomy prognosis for the province, warning of continued job losses in the oil sector this summer that will push the unemployment rate above eight per cent.

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“Here in Alberta we’ll see our already struggling labour market face more energy sector layoffs,” Todd Hirsch, ATB’s chief economist, said in a written statement. “At the same time, unanswered questions around the Brexit vote and the heightened volatility in global financial markets are not helping the situation.”

The forecast came on the same day Nexen Energy announced it is laying off about 350 employees, after deciding not to restart part of an oilsands unit damaged in a January blast that left two workers dead.