It wasn't an ideal start to 2019 for employment in Canada, Saskatchewan, and the southwest.

All three areas experienced more job loss in January when compared to December 2018.

According to Statistics Canada, the southwest region that encompasses Swift Current and Moose Jaw lost about 400 jobs in a month's time, pushing the unemployment rate up from four per cent to end 2018, to 4.7 per cent.

Another reason the region's rate went up is that the labour force grew by roughly 200 people.

The unemployment rate also rose in Saskatchewan from 5.3% to 5.4% due to 2,500fewers jobs. And after posting the lowest unemployment rate Statistics Canada has recorded since keeping track of the stat, the national rate jumped to 5.5%, up 0.3% from December 2018.