New Brunswick adds 5,100 jobs in February

The New Brunswick economy added atotal of 5,100 full and part-time jobs in Februaryas the province saw its unemployment rate fall from January,according to Statistics Canada's monthly labour force report.

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The unemployment rate fell0.9percentage points, to8.2 per cent, in February. In February 2017,the rate was 8.7 per cent.

For the most part, the unemployment rate in all areas of the province was lower in February 2018 compared to a year ago.

Statistics Canada cautions against reading too much into month-to-month changes and says year-to-year comparisons are more relevant.

Of the 5,100 jobs that were added in February, 1,200 were part time and 3,900 were full time. This means theparticipation rate edged up 0.3 per centto a total of 61.9 per cent.

In January, Gordon Song, aStatistics Canadaanalyst,said employment in the province was down 5,800 jobs.

But in February more than 2,000 jobs opened up in the professions andscientific and technical services across the province, Song said Friday.

In the field of manufacturing, more than 1,600 jobs opened up. Meanwhile, in transportation and warehousing, there's about 800 new jobs.

In the Atlantic region in February,New Brunswick had the second-lowest rate of unemployment, behind Nova Scotia, which was at 7.9 per cent. The highest rate in the country was in Newfoundland and Labrador, where it was 14 per cent.

When compared to the rest of Canada, New Brunswick's unemployment rate is third highest, behind Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island.

Now and a year ago

In his Labour Market Bulletin, Samuel LeBreton, a Fredericton-based economist, said the labour market improved in the southeast, including the Moncton area, the northeast and northwest of the province. However, it worsened in the southwest, including Saint John, and the central region.

In the Campbellton and Miramichi area, the unemployment rate was 9.5 per cent, down from 11 per cent last February.

In the Monctonand Richibucto area, unemployment was sitting at 8.5 per cent, dropping from 10.5 a year ago.

In the Saint John and St. Stephen area, unemployment was 6.2 per cent, downfrom 7.1 per cent.

In the Fredericton and Oromocto area, unemploymentis sitting at 6.3 per cent, jumping up from 4.5 per cent.

In the Edmundston and Woodstock areas, the unemployment rate is sitting at three per cent, up slightly from 2.9 per cent.

Canada's job market added about 15,000 jobs in February, movingthe unemployment rate down to 5.8 per cent.