Following two months of increases, Canada lost 88,000 jobs in January from December to a total of almost 18.6 million jobs, according to seasonally adjusted numbers released today by Statistics Canada. A loss of 137,000 part-time jobs in January offset a gain of 49,000 full-time jobs.

Declines were spread across a number of industries, including educational services; finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing; professional, scientific and technical services; construction; and healthcare and social assistance. On the other hand, employment increased in business, building and other support services.

The unemployment rate edged up to 5.9% in January from 5.8% in December. Adjusted to US concepts, the unemployment rate in Canada was 4.9%, compared with 4.1% in the US. The unemployment rate for both countries trended downward in the 12 months to January.

The jobs loss was far worse than market expectations, which were for an increase of 10,000 positions, according to Matthew Stewart, The Conference Board of Canada’s director, national forecast.

“The Canadian economy suffered a major employment decline in January. But given the job boom in late 2017, a pullback was overdue,” Stewart said in a statement. “The trend rate of job creation over the last six months is now consistent with the other economic data showing an economy growing at a moderate pace.”

The largest employment declines were in Ontario and Quebec. There were also decreases in New Brunswick and Manitoba.

Employment in Ontario fell by 50,900 jobs in January when compared to the previous month, as a loss of 59,300 part-time jobs in the province partially offset a gain of 8,500 full-time jobs. Ontario’s unemployment rate only edged down to 5.5% in January from 5.6% in December as fewer people participated in the labor market.