CALGARY, Alberta, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The province of Alberta expects its economy to shrink by 2 percent in 2009, provincial Finance Minister Iris Evans said on Thursday, as investment in Alberta's oil sands and other industrial sectors dries up.

Evans said the provincial government expects 15,000 job losses this year and forecasts a 5.8 percent unemployment rate in 2009, up from 3.6 percent in 2008. (Reporting by Scott Haggett; editing by Peter Galloway)