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As thousands of oilpatch jobs vanished almost three years ago, Calgary’s unemployment rate soared to 10.3 per cent, highest among the country’s largest cities.

The rate was far lower in the Edmonton area, sitting at seven per cent in November 2016, underscoring some of the structural differences between the economies of the province’s largest cities.

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A new Statistics Canada labour report issued Friday shows the gap between Calgary and Edmonton has now reversed.

In July, Calgary’s unemployment rate dipped slightly to 6.9 per cent, and has dropped almost a full percentage point in the past 12 months. In Edmonton, the number in July rose to 7.5 per cent, up a point in the past year.

Right across Alberta, 14,300 jobs disappeared last month — affecting full-time work, hitting hardest at positions in the accommodations industry, as well as the natural resources sector.

Alberta’s overall unemployment rate rose to seven per cent in July, up from 6.6 per cent.