Ottawa: The economy created 14,600 net new jobs in March but the national unemployment rate rose to 6% from 5.8% in February, reports Statistics.
A surge in job seekers, rather than job losses, caused the unemployment rate to rise from its previous 33-year low.
The agency said the participation rate in the labour force reached a record high 68% last month.
Almost all the job gains were in the West, with BC leading the way with 15,000 new jobs added. Meanwhile, both Ontario and Quebec saw their unemployment rates rise by 0.3% to 6.4% and 7.3 per cent.
Part-time employment was the biggest reason employment went up in March, with a 34,000 jump, while the number of full-time workers fell by 19,600.
But over the past year, full-time employment has grown twice as fast as part-time, the agency says.
Statistics Canada said the economy created 325,000 new jobs over the past 12 months.
The addition of 14,600 in March was close to the consensus analyst expectation of 15,000, following a surge of 43,300 in February.
BMO Capital Markets economist Douglas Porter said Canadian employment “is still holding up well, with no obvious signs of stress outside of the beleaguered manufacturing sector.”
Royal Bank economist Paul Ferley observed that after two months of big job gains, the economy was due for more moderate increases.
“To ensure that any spillover for a weakening US economy is contained, we expect that the Bank of Canada will continue to lower interest rates,” Ferley added.
“Our forecast assumes that the overnight rate drops a further 75 basis points over the next two policy meetings. This will send the overnight rate down to 2.75% by mid-year.”
© 2008 The Canadian Press