Ready for the work week by Sean

The Canadian economy has created 17 900 jobs in March, continuing an upward trend that began in July 2009. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.2%.

The economy shed 14,200 full-time jobs last month, while creating 32,200 part-time positions. It?s a reversal of a month earlier, when full-time jobs drove the gains, partly due to Olympic-related hiring.

The new jobs have mostly benefited the professional, scientific and technical services sector and construction and natural resources fields. Job losses were recorded in business services, transportation and warehousing, among others.

Women aged 25 to 54 and men aged 55 and older are workers who have benefited the most from the newly created jobs in March.

Statistics show that since July 2009, 176 000 jobs have been created. The full-time employment continued to grow since July, despite the decline in March.

In most provinces, employment saw only a slight change in the last month. Only three provinces recorded a significant increase in the number of jobs, namely Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan. However, Alberta is an exception. Since July 2009, Alberta is the only Canadian province that recorded a decline in employment. In March, the unemployment rate peaked at a 14 year high of 7.5%, compared to 6.9% in February.

A slight increase in Vancouver?s jobless rate last month compared to the steady national figure can be explained by the winding down of the Olympic Games. Statistics figures show unemployment in B.C. jumped two-tenths of a point to 7.9 per cent in March. The province?s economic development minister Iain Black says he is ?starting to drop the word cautious from cautious optimism? as steady employment figures show the province is on track to return to prosperity.
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