The Canadian economy surprised economists by pumping out 32,000 new jobs in March, keeping the national unemployment rate unchanged at 5.8 per cent as more people joined the workforce, Statistics Canada reported Friday.
Economists were expecting the economy to add only about 20,000 jobs. The March figures are the second modest monthly gain in a row, after a large drop in January.
The unemployment stood at the lowest mark since the agency started measuring the indicator in 1976. The only other time the rate slipped to this level was 2007.
Compared to March 2017, total employment rose by 296,000, with the number of full-time workers increasing by 335,000. Over the same period, total hours worked grew by 2.2 per cent, the latest report showed.
The increase was driven by gains in full-time jobs. The labour-market survey showed the economy added 68,300 full-time positions, while the number of part-time jobs decreased by 35,900.
Unemployment rate by province, March 2018 (Source: Statistics Canada)
Most of the new jobs were added in Quebec and Saskatchewan with unemployment rates unchanged at 5.6 and 5.8 per cent respectively, while there was little change in the other provinces, Statistics Canada said.
British Columbia continued to have the lowest unemployment rate among the provinces at 4.7 per cent in March, the data agency said.
There were more people working in construction, public administration and agriculture.
With files from The Canadian Press
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