Canadian employers cut 34,400 jobs in December, a figure that was worse than economists had been expecting.

Statistics Canada said Friday the decline in employment for the second consecutive month was the result of a drop of 70,700 full-time jobs. That was partially offset by a rise in the number of people working part-time.

Economists had forecast a net loss of 20,000 jobs in Canada for the month.

With the drop, the unemployment rate rose by 0.3 percentage points to hit 6.6%.

Weakness in the construction industry was a major factor in the December jobs report, with 44,000 jobs lost in the sector. StatsCan said that was one of the largest monthly losses for the industry in more than three decades.

Employment in transportation and warehousing was up 23,000 in December, while employment in other sectors was little changed last month.

The private sector suffered a loss of 59,400 jobs, which was made up somewhat by the addition of roughly 20,500 jobs in the public sector.

Employment edged down in most provinces, with Alberta posting the largest loss as it shed about 16,000 jobs. The province’s unemployment rate rose by 0.7 percentage points to 4.1%, but that was still the lowest in the country.

The December losses follow a big drop in November of 71,000 jobs.

IE