If crude prices really have bottomed, relief can't come soon enough for Canada's oil-rich provinces. Alberta's unemployment rate shot up half a percentage point in February, while Saskatchewan shed almost 8,000 jobs in the month. Overall, the national unemployment rate reached the highest level in almost three years as Canada shed almost 52,000 full-time jobs.

If there's a bright spot in the data, it was the construction sector -- where 34,000 jobs were created as Canada's housing boom continues unabated.

Canada lost 2,300 jobs in February, Statistics Canada said on Friday, missing analysts' expectations for a gain of 10,000. The unemployment rate rose to 7.3 per cent, although the participation rate held steady.

Economists and the market focused on the loss of 51,800 full-time positions that more than offset a 49,500 increase in part-time jobs.

"It was pretty weak," said David Tulk, chief Canada macro strategist at TD Securities.

Others noted that some of the swings could be anomalies. The report can be volatile month-to-month.

"Many people saw the big decline in full-time employment and the backup in the unemployment rate and read this as being a very weak report," said BMO Capital Markets Chief Economist Doug Porter.

“After a series of mildly upbeat economic reports in Canada, today’s jobs report crashed the party,” Porter added in a report to clients.

“While not a big break from the underlying sluggish story over the past year, this drab report pounds home the point that the underlying economy remains soft and that job growth just can’t keep up with population gains at this stage of the cycle."

The Canadian dollar pared its gains against the greenback. Economists still expect the Bank of Canada to hold rates steady at its next meeting in April.

Canada loses 2,300 jobs in February: 'Clearly disappointing', says economist

Derek Burleton, Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist at TD Economics joins BNN for his reaction to Canadian jobs numbers for February. He says the loss of 2,300 jobs in February was "clearly disappointing," but he expects government spending on infrastructure to create more employment in the construction sector.

In Friday's report, the healthcare and social assistance field saw the biggest losses, followed by the educational services sector. The natural resources sector, which has suffered from cheaper oil prices, continued to weaken.

Hiring in the construction industry jumped, although the sector was little changed from a year earlier.

Oil-sensitive Alberta added a meager 1,400 jobs, but an increase in people looking for work sent the unemployment rate up to 7.9 percent there, its highest since August 1995.

Separate Statscan data showed Canadian household debt rose to a record 165.4 percent of income in the fourth quarter as disposable income grew more slowly than borrowers took on debt.

Household credit market debt, which includes consumer credit, mortgages and other loans, rose, with mortgages making up the bulk of debt outstanding. Over 2015, mortgages surged 6.3 percent, their strongest growth since 2011.

Years of low borrowing costs have encouraged Canadians to take on more debt as the Bank of Canada has been forced to keep interest rates low to support the economy. The central bank cut interest rates twice last year.