B.C.'s unemployment rate stayed flat with little change in total employment in November, according to Statistics Canada labour force data released Friday.
The province's unemployment rate stayed at 8.3%, below the national average which fell to 8.5% in November.
However, employment quality in the province declined last month. The number of full-time jobs in B.C. fell 11.7% in November while part-time employment rose 21.6%, replacing the full-time jobs lost and absorbing the increase in the number of additional people in B.C.'s labour force.
B.C. and New Brunswick were the only two provinces to report full-time job losses in November, however New Brunswick's loss was marginal (-0.1%).
Full-time employment rose the most in Ontario (21.8%) and Quebec (18.2%), contributing to an overall increase in employment across the country.
Total employment in Canada rose 79,000, bolstered by a 39,000 increase in full-time employment, a third consecutive monthly increase nationally. Part-time employment rose 40,000 following two months of declines.
Most of the gain in overall employment was among women aged 25 to 54 (51,000). Almost all employment growth was attributed to increases in the service sector, especially in educational services.
November's gains brings service sector employment back up to October 2008 levels, although, goods sector employment is still 324,000 below October 2008 levels.