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Alberta’s employment doldrums deepened in November, as the economy lost 18,000 jobs and the unemployment rate nudged upwards.

A University of Calgary economist said it’s the worst single-month employment pummeling the province has endured since the oil price crash five years ago.

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“And it’s the second-largest monthly drop on record,” said Trevor Tombe.

The jobless rate grew by 0.5 points to 7.2 per cent, joining B.C. and Quebec as the only provinces where the rate increased, according to Statistics Canada.

But in Calgary, the unemployment rate dipped slightly, from 7.2 per cent in October to 6.9 per cent last month.

The national jobless rate edged up by 0.4 points to 5.9 per cent, with employment losses in Alberta accounting for a quarter of the national total.

It was telling, particularly for Alberta, that the second-steepest year-over-year drop in employment, at 7.2 per cent, hit the natural resources sector.