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Anger from oil-patch regions ignored by the federal government’s extension of employment insurance flared Thursday as new figures emerged showing growing numbers of jobless collecting benefits in communities from Edmonton to Estevan.

Edmonton was among communities left on the outside looking in at changes in this week’s federal budget that grant five extra weeks of benefits for people in 12 regions across the country that have seen the most extreme increases in unemployment. All of Alberta is included, except the Edmonton region, where the jobless rate of 6.8 per cent is still better than the national average.

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But Statistics Canada’s release Thursday of the number of Canadians receiving regular EI benefits inflamed anger in oil-producing areas left out of the extension.

The federal agency said Edmonton had 36,870 people on EI in January, up 47 per cent from January 2015.

In Calgary, 35840 people received benefits, up 50 per cent year-over-year.