National unemployment rate drops, rises regionally as more people look for work
An uptick of new jobs in Canada last month helped knock the nation’s unemployment rate to its lowest level since Statistics Canada started tracking comparable data in 1976.
In its monthly labour force survey, the national statistics agency said the country added 94,000 positions, driven heavily by the addition of 89,900 full-time jobs, pushing the unemployment rate down to 5.6 per cent from 5.8 – a previous 40 year low.
The gains came in six provinces, led by Alberta and Quebec, growing by 24,000 and 26,000, respectively.
In Saskatchewan, employment rose by 5,500 positions, knocking the unemployment rate down 0.7 points to 5.5 per cent, the second decrease in three months. The number of full-time jobs ticked up by 4,000, while part-time employment rose by 1,500. Year-over-year, 15,000 more people are employed in the province.