New job numbers released by Statistics Canada Friday show modest employment growth of 0.7 per cent across all Canadian industries from January 2011 to January 2012. Provincially, the picture was much the same, with growth of less than one per cent overall in most provinces.

Alberta, P.E.I. and B.C. were the only regions to see overall employment increases of more than one per cent.

Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador were the only two provinces where overall employment decreased — by 1.1 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively.

The biggest job gains nationwide were in natural resources, which includes forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying and oil and gas, while the biggest drop in employment was in the finance, insurance, real estate and leasing sector.

Here is a look at how various industries fared in the 10 provinces. All figures are seasonally adjusted, and StatsCan does not include the territories in this set of job figures. The agency uses the North American Industry Classifications System when describing sectors. For a breakdown of which professions fall under each category, see StatsCan's definitions.

Alberta

Agriculture and the natural resources sector had the biggest employment increases in Alberta year-on-year. Business, building and other support services took the biggest hit.

Overall job gains/losses:

• December 2011 to January 2012: +0.1%
• January 2011 to January 2012: +3.9%

Biggest employment gains:

• December 2011 to January 2012: utilities (+30.8%); public administration (+4.9%)
• January 2011 to January 2012: agriculture (+15.7%); natural resources (+13.9%)

Biggest employment losses:

• December 2011 to January 2012: finance, insurance, real estate and leasing (-5.9%); manufacturing (-4.3%)
• January 2011 to January 2012: business, building and other support services (-10.3%); finance, insurance, real estate and leasing (-4.0%)

Quebec

Quebec's biggest employment increase for 2011-2012 was in the natural resources sector, while utilities and agriculture saw the largest drops.

Overall job gains/losses:

• December 2011 to January 2012: +0.2%
• January 2011 to January 2012: -1.1%

Biggest employment gains:

• December 2011 to January 2012: information, culture and recreation (+8.4%); transportation and warehousing (+3.7%)
• January 2011 to January 2012: natural resources (+16.1%); accommodation and food services (+ 8.9%)

Biggest employment losses:

• December 2011 to January 2012: agriculture (- 6.7%); finance, insurance, real estate and leasing (-3.7%)
• January 2011 to January 2012: utilities (-15.1%); agriculture (-12.9%)

Ontario

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, left, tries out a tractor at the International Plowing Match in St. Thomas, Ont., on Sept. 21, 2010. Ontario's biggest job growth from January 2011 to January 2012 was in the agriculture sector. (Maria Babbage/Canadian Press)

Agriculture had the biggest employment gains — both in January and for the year — while finance, insurance, real estate and leasing, as well as utilities and manufacturing all saw employment shrink by four per cent or more.

Overall job gains/losses:

• December 2011 to January 2012: -0.1%
• January 2011 to January 2012: +0.7%

Biggest employment gains:

• December 2011 to January 2012: agriculture (+16.0%); natural resources (+6.8%)
• January 2011 to January 2012: agriculture (+12.6%); accommodation and food services (+12.3%)

Biggest employment losses:

• December 2011 to January 2012: professional, scientific and technical services (- 3.2%); utilities (-2.5%)
• January 2011 to January 2012: finance, insurance, real estate and leasing (-4.5%); utilities (-4.0%); manufacturing

British Columbia

Construction, natural resources and transportation, and warehousing saw jobs grow by eight per cent or more for the year, while the utilities sector was the biggest winner in January. Agriculture and Public administration took the biggest hits.

Overall job gains/losses:

• December 2011 to January 2012: -0.1%
• January 2011 to January 2012: +1.7%

Biggest employment gains:

• December 2011 to January 2012: utilities (+30.5%); business, building and other support services (+16.4%)
• January 2011 to January 2012: construction (+10.6%); natural resources (+ 8.5%); transportation and warehousing (+8.2%)

Biggest employment losses:

• December 2011 to January 2012: professional, scientific and technical services (-13.2%); agriculture (-8.6%)
• January 2011 to January 2012: agriculture (-14.1%); public administration (-12.5%)

Saskatchewan

Accommodation and food services had the biggest increase in employment for the year, while January saw a spike in public administration jobs. The province's biggest job losses for the year were in the information, culture and recreation sector, while January's job hits were in construction and agriculture.

Overall job gains/losses:

• December 2011 to January 2012: +0.3%
• January 2011 to January 2012: +0.6%

Biggest employment gains:

• December 2011 to January 2012: public administration (+12.7%); manufacturing (+7.3%)
• January 2011 to January 2012: accommodation and food services (+13.0%); business, building and other support services (+10.7%)

Biggest employment losses:

• December 2011 to January 2012: construction (-5.7%); agriculture (-5.2%)
• January 2011 to January 2012: information, culture and recreation (-15.0%); agriculture (-10.6%)

Manitoba

Manitoba saw significant job growth in accommodation and food services over the course of 2011, but employment in agriculture dropped by more than 15 per cent. The January jobs gains were in services and construction, while the biggest losses that month were in finance, insurance, real estate and leasing .

Overall job gains/losses:

• December 2011 to January 2012: 0.0%
• January 2011 to January 2012: +0.3%

Biggest employment gains:

• December 2011 to January 2012: *other services (+6.5%); construction (+4.9%)
• January 2011 to January 2012: accommodation and food services (+17.6%); transportation and warehousing (+12.3%)

Biggest employment losses:

• December 2011 to January 2012: finance, insurance, real estate and leasing (-6.0%); business, building and other support services (-5.5%)
• January 2011 to January 2012: agriculture (-15.3%)' manufacturing (-11.8%)

New Brunswick

New Brunswick saw large job losses in the agricultural sector in 2011, but made up for it with growth in the utilities and information, culture and recreation sectors, as well as accommodation and food services, to eke out a 0.5 per cent bump in overall employment.

Overall job gains/losses:

• December 2011 to January 2012: +0.2%
• January 2011 to January 2012: +0.5%

Biggest employment gains:

• December 2011 to January 2012: agriculture (+10.5%); natural resources (+8.9%)
• January 2011 to January 2012: utilities(+15.8%); information, culture and recreation (+12.9%)

Biggest employment losses:

• December 2011 to January 2012: accommodation and food services (-6.3%); finance, insurance, real estate and leasing (-5.5%)
• January 2011 to January 2012: agriculture (-28.8%); transportation and warehousing (-13.6%)

Nova Scotia

Workers lay a natural gas pipeline in Dartmouth, N.S. The biggest job growth in the province was in the utilities sector, which includes such things as natural gas and electricity distribution, power generation, sewage treatment and water supply. . (Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press)

Job growth in Nova Scotia was fed by the utilities sector and losses were felt in business, building and other support services. Job losses in the natural resources sector were enough to cause overall employment to decrease slightly in January despite growth in agriculture and utilities.

Overall job gains/losses:

• December 2011 to January 2012: -0.2%
• January 2011 to January 2012: +0.9%

Biggest employment gains:

• December 2011 to January 2012: utilities (+33.3%); agriculture (+30.6%)
• January 2011 to January 2012: utilities(+25.7%); transportation and warehousing(+14.5%)

Biggest employment losses:

• December 2011 to January 2012: natural resources (-6.9%); transportation and warehousing(-4.5%)
• January 2011 to January 2012: business, building and other support services (-16.5%); finance, insurance, real estate and leasing (-9.2%)

Newfoundland and Labrador

After Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador is the only other province to experience an overall drop — although small — in employment between January 2011 and January 2012. Its biggest losses were in agriculture and natural resources, while finance, insurance, real estate, and leasing and professional, scientific and technical services all saw significant growth.

Overall job gains/losses:

• December 2011 to January 2012: -0.1%
• January 2011 to January 2012: -0.5%

Biggest employment gains:

• December 2011 to January 2012: agriculture (+25.0%); transportation and warehousing (+12.9%)
• January 2011 to January 2012: finance, insurance, real estate and leasing (+39.1%); professional, scientific and technical services (+21.7%)

Biggest employment losses:

• December 2011 to January 2012: manufacturing (-9.2%); *other services (-4.1%)
• January 2011 to January 2012: agriculture(-31.8%); natural resources (-13.7%)

Prince Edward Island

P.E.I. saw the biggest overall bump in employment in 2011 after Alberta, with jobs in transportation and warehousing experiencing the largest increase and the utilities sector taking the biggest hit, both year-on-year as well as from December 2011 to January 2012.

Overall job gains/losses:

• December 2011 to January 2012: -1.4%
• January 2011 to January 2012: +2.4%

Biggest employment gains:

• December 2011 to January 2012: *other services (+11.1%); trade (+12.9%)
• January 2011 to January 2012: transportation and warehousing (+31.6%); health care and social assistance(+15.1%)

Biggest employment losses:

• December 2011 to January 2012: utilities (-25.0%); business, building and other support services (-8.3%)
• January 2011 to January 2012: utilities (-25.0%); business, building and other support services (-18.5%)

*(The classification "other services" includes everything from beauty salons to automotive repair — i.e. anything in the service industry not covered by other categories. A full breakdown of professions in this sector is here.)