The number of out-of-work Albertans collecting employment insurance has risen 91 per cent since January, 2015, Statistics Canada reports.

The news offers yet another glimpse into how the collapse in global energy prices is impacting the energy-dependent Prairie province.

Statistics Canada said Thursday that 63,800 Albertans received EI in January, up 2 percent from the month before.

The number of EI recipients in Edmonton rose by 2.4 percent and in Calgary by 1.7 percent. There were increases in most of the other regions of the province as well.

In all, 543,100 Canadians received EI benefits in January, virtually unchanged from the month before. But on a year-over-year basis, the total number of EI beneficiaries increased by 7.1 percent — largely as a result of increases in Alberta.

Alberta has been hit hard by the oil price slump and has seen its jobless rate rise to 7.9 percent — the highest level outside Atlantic Canada.

Earlier this week, the federal government announced that the rules governing EI would be changing to help resource-dependent provinces.

The federal budget will add five weeks to the regular 45 weeks of EI benefits that workers in 12 resource-dependent regions receive, as of July but retroactive to January 2015.

The budget will also cut the two-week waiting period for benefits to one week starting next year, and add $73 million over two years to hire more people at overwhelmed Service Canada call centres.

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said in response that rough estimates from her staff suggest that two-thirds of Canadians affected by the EI changes work in Alberta.