Another bleak report is out, showing how bad the economy is getting in Calgary.

The city’s unemployment rate has hit 9.0 per cent, after jumping 0.4 per cent from July to August.

That’s the highest unemployment rate of any large city in the country.

ATB Chief Economist Todd Hirsch says the slide down is much longer than he ever predicted.

“Those oil prices really deteriorated much more than most people thought they would, and that’s really what has led to the real hit to the job market. So, no, I didn’t expect to see nine per cent unemployment a year ago, but that’s where we’re at now,” he said.

It may not be a very Merry Christmas in the city either: Hirsch says we could see double digit unemployment by the time December rolls around.

However, he predicts things will take a turn for the better early next year.

In Alberta, the jobless rate fell from 8.6 per cent in July to 8.4 per cent, while nationally, it crept up 0.1 per cent to 7.0 per cent despite adding 26,200 jobs. The increase was due to more people looking for work.

In July, the country lost 31,000 jobs.