B.C.’s unemployment rate rose 0.7 percentage points to 7.0% in March compared with the previous month, according to Statistics Canada data released this morning.
Employment in the province declined by 15,000 jobs, which offsets most of February’s increase of 19,800 jobs.
March’s Labour Force Survey shows that unemployment in B.C. remains lower than average. Nationwide, the rate increased by 0.2 percentage points to 7.2% and there was a loss of 55,000 full-time jobs – the lowest single-month increase since 2009.
The Canadian dollar fell nearly a whole cent against its U.S. counterpart on the news this morning, and the TSX opened at a near-four-month low.
Compared with March 2012, the unemployment rates in both Canada and B.C. remained the same.
The lowest unemployment rates were found in:
- Saskatchewan (3.9%, up 0.1 percentage point from February);
- Alberta (4.8%, an increase of 0.3 percentage points); and
- Manitoba (5.0%, up 0.1 percentage point).
Newfoundland and Labrador had the highest unemployment at 12.3%.
