Nearly 19k jobs created in Alberta last month despite low oil prices

OTTAWA – The country’s labour market received a surge in full-time and private-sector work last month that helped to drive down the national unemployment rate to 7.1 per cent, Statistics Canada said Friday.

And Alberta – hard hit by plunging oil prices – was one of the hottest job markets in the country, according to Statistics Canada.

The agency’s latest labour force survey said Canada generated 40,600 net new jobs in March, pushing down the national unemployment rate from 7.3 per cent in February.

It was the largest month-over-month increase since 43,100 jobs were added in October.

The data also showed that 35,300 of March’s net new jobs were full time, 65,100 jobs were created in the private sector, public-sector positions fell by 2,600, and 74,700 net new positions were in the services sector.

In the hard hit region of Alberta, the provincial unemployment rate fell to 7.1 per cent in March compared to 7.9 per cent in February, thanks to more retail and wholesale trade positions. This change came despite the fact the jobless rate rose in both Calgary and Edmonton.

WATCH: The latest employment numbers from Statistics Canada show Canada gained more the 40-thousand jobs in March and almost half were in Alberta. Doug Vaessen reports.

1:02 Alberta helps boost job numbers in March

Calgary’s unemployment rate rose to 8.6 per cent from 8.4 per cent in February – reaching its highest mark in at least 20 years. In Edmonton, the rate crept up to 6.9 per cent from 6.8 per cent.

Statistics Canada cautions the figures for individual cities may fluctuate widely because they are based on small samples.

A consensus of economists had been predicting the country to add 10,000 net jobs overall and for the unemployment rate to stay at 7.3 per cent, according to Thomson Reuters.

READ MORE: Alberta’s economy doing worse than expected, TD report warns

Compared to 12 months earlier, Canada added 129,600 net new jobs, an increase of 0.7 per cent.

The country’s youth unemployment rate crept up 13.4 per cent last month, from 13.3 per cent in February.

The data also showed that self-employed positions across Canada fell by 22,000 last month, while the net number of employee jobs increased by 62,600.

• Newfoundland and Labrador: 13.1 per cent (14.1)
• Prince Edward Island: 11.0 (11.0)
• Nova Scotia: 9.1 (9.1)
• New Brunswick: 10.2 (9.9)
• Quebec: 7.5 (7.6)
• Ontario: 6.8 (6.8)
• Manitoba: 6.0 (6.0)
• Saskatchewan: 6.2 (5.9)
• Alberta: 7.1 (7.9)
• British Columbia: 6.5 (6.6)