Almost 14,000 people found full-time jobs in B.C. last month, shrinking the province's unemployment rate, according to the latest labour force survey by Human Resources Development Canada.
With job growth rising faster than labour force growth, the unemployment rate in B.C. fell to 4.1% from 4.2% in December.
Most of the job gains were in the Kootenay and North Coast areas of the province, offsetting job losses on Vancouver Island and in the Thompson-Okanagan region.
Metro Vancouver employment rates remained static because of the area's tight labour market.
The greatest job increases were in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors, which enjoyed 9.1% and 2.1% increases, respectively. Those gains offset job losses in a forestry sector hard hit by continuing problems in the U.S. housing market.
Across Canada, unemployment dropped in every province, except in New Brunswick, where unemployment rose 0.4%, and in Alberta and Prince Edward Island, which remained unchanged.