The Canadian economy lost 213,000 jobs in January, pushing the unemployment rate up to 9.4 per cent.

That’s the highest it has been since last August.

The job losses and the jump in the jobless rate were much more substantial than economists had predicted.

They were heavily concentrated in Ontario and Quebec, which imposed lockdowns and curfews to stop the spread of COVID-19.

However in Saskatchewan there was a slight uptick un employment, with 2,200 more people working in January than there was in December.

(C.P)