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There was little change on the national employment front in February, according to Statistics Canada.
Its latest labour force survey, released Friday, showed the unemployment rate held at five per cent.
Canada’s economy added just 22,000 jobs last month following increases of 69,000 in December and 150,000 in January.
Most of those increases came in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Manitoba. Employment declined in Nova Scotia and was little changed in the remaining provinces.
StatCan said employment rose among those aged 55 to 64 but held steady among core-aged adults and youth.
The number of people employed in health care and social assistance grew by 15,000 in February, building on a gain of 40,000 recorded in January. There were also more people employed in public administration.
Employment fell in business, building and other support services, marking the first notable decline since October 2021.
On a year-over-year basis, average hourly wages rose 5.4 per cent to $33.16 in February. Growth was higher than in January and December, but lower than in November.
At look at some of the provincial numbers
New Brunswick lost 600 full-time jobs but gained 5,700 part-time positions for a net increase of 5,100.
StatCan said that caused the unemployment rate to drop 1.2 percentage points to 6.3 per cent.
Nova Scotia lost 3,700 full-time and 1,000 part-time jobs for an overall decrease of 4,700.
That pushed the unemployment rate up seven-tenths of a percentage point to 5.7 per cent.
Prince Edward Island gained 1,700 jobs as the unemployment rate drop to 6.7 per cent from seven per cent the previous month.
In Ontario, the province added 28,900 full-time jobs but lost 13,300 part-time positions for a net increase of 15,600.
The unemployment rate dropped just one-tenth of a percentage point to 5.1 per cent.
The full report can be found on Statistics Canada’s website.