The unemployment rate jumped two points in January in Quebec as health measures tightened. At 6.8% in December, it was flat at 8.8% in January, according to Statistics Canada.
The federal agency notes that tightening measures across the country this winter have resulted in many job losses. The unemployment rate rose to 9.4%, an increase of 0.6 points.
212,000 jobs were lost in Canada in January, mainly in Quebec and Ontario. Statistics Canada notes that the impact of non-essential retail business in La Belle County has been particularly felt.
In doing so, Quebec alone recorded a loss of 98,000 jobs in January. The losses are concentrated in the part-time jobs; Already 92,500 have disappeared versus 5,500 full-time jobs. The number of unemployed increased by 30%, from 304,300 to 394,600.
Ontario, for its part, has an unemployment rate of 10.2%, up 0.6 points.
To the west, Alberta saw an improvement in its record. Its unemployment rate decreased by 0.4 percentage points to 10.7% in January.
But British Columbia was also shocked. Its unemployment rate rose to 8.0%, up 0.8 points.