FREDERICTON – New Brunswick’s unemployment rate has risen from January’s 10 per cent to 10.4 per cent in February.
Statistics Canada’s labour force outlook shows about 41,000 New Brunswickers are without work and 2,100 full time jobs were lost last month.
It’s a bleak outcome for Premier Brian Gallant’s Liberal government, which was elected just six months ago.
“Nobody can be celebrating this,” said Finance Minister Roger Melanson. “If you look at the national context only Ontario and Quebec saw an increase of jobs. Alberta and other provinces have lost.”
He says there could be many causes for the poor results, including the drop in oil prices.
“We certainly will see New Brunswickers coming back home,” he said. “If that happens we will see some population growth, which is good. But then we need to make sure they find some work. And that’s our focus.”
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