The Alberta economy is leading the way once again but this time it isn't good news.

The province lost 16 thousand jobs in December to the lead the country.

It is the largest drop Alberta has seen in a single month in years and economists are predicting more bad news.

"We might see over the next six months, on average, a loss of between five and ten thosuand jobs per month," says Todd Hirsch, Senior Economist with ATB Financial. "I don't think it will be as severe as it was in December and we might even see some job increases in some months."

The brunt of the job losses in December came in the professional services sector.

Despite the downturn, Alberta still has the lowest unemployment rate in the country.