B.C.'s once-booming construction industry has shed 32,000 jobs since September. (CBC)

More than 68,000 British Columbians lost their full-time jobs in January as the province's unemployment rate shot up in January to 6.1 per cent, an increase of 0.8 percentage points from December.

Statistics Canada analyst Jane Lin said the numbers released Friday show many people who formerly had full-time jobs are only finding part-time work.

While 68,000 full-time jobs were lost, nearly 33,000 people picked up part-time work, meaning overall, B.C.'s economy shed 35,000 jobs in January.

The hardest-hit sector in B.C. was manufacturing, which lost 18,000 jobs in January, followed by construction, which shed 10,000 jobs. Retail and trade jobs followed those sectors.

Since October, more than half of all jobs lost in the province have been in construction, bringing total losses in that industry to 32,000 since its peak in September 2008.

Province still below national average

At 6.1 per cent, B.C.'s unemployment rate is still more than a full point below the national unemployment rate of 7.2 per cent.

Nationally, the economy shed more than 129,000 jobs, the largest loss of jobs in a single month in more than 30 years, and far exceeding the drop of 40,000 that economists had been projecting.

Most jobs were lost by adults working in the manufacturing industry, with most of the losses coming in the three largest provinces, Ontario, Quebec, and B.C.

The only sectors to show employment gains nationally were health care and social assistance.

The situation appears to be a little better in Canadian cities, but Statistics Canada warns the survey numbers were relatively small and the numbers were not as accurate.

Vancouver's unemployment rate rose to 5.1 per cent in January, up from 4.8 per cent in December, and Victoria's rate also rose to 4 per cent, up from 3.7 per cent.