While the job statistics in the U.S. looked somewhat brighter in December the situation was somewhat gloomier in Canada. Nevertheless the unemployment percentage is still considerably less here than in the U.S. even though there was a slight increase to 7.5 per cent here.
   While 18,000 new jobs were created in Canada overall there was a loss of 26,000 full time jobs in December. More Canadians were looking for work and this caused the unemployment rate to edge up by .1 per cent.
   In 2011 the Canadian economy has added 199,000 job but almost all of this growth was in the first half of the year. Most job growth has been in part time jobs rather than full time positions. Quebec has been worst effected by slow job growth losing 25,700 jobs during the year. Alberta is the province with the lowest unemployment rate at 4.9 per cent. Alberta is rich in oil and natural gas deposits. For more see this article.