New Brunswick unemployment rate rises slightly in February

The unemployment rate in New Brunswick rose to 8.5 per cent in February after the loss of 900 full-time jobs.

That's a small increase in the jobless rate fromthe month before, when it was 8.3 per cent, but down from February a year ago, when it was 8.9 per cent.

The province gained 2,500 part-times jobs in February, and the labour force grew by 2,900, Statistics Canada said Friday in its monthly labour force survey.

Statistics Canadaalso reported that participation by women in the workforce was up.

For Canada as a whole, the jobless rate stayed at 5.8 per cent, after the addition of 56,000 jobs.

Among the Atlantic provinces, New Brunswick had the second-lowest employment rate behind Nova Scotia, at seven per cent.

The highest rate was Newfoundland and Labrador at 12.8 per cent, and the P.E.I. rate was 11.8 per cent.

In New Brunswick

Within the province, the highest unemployment rate in February was 16.5 per cent, in the region that includesCampbellton and Miramichi. A year ago, the jobless rate there was 9.5 per cent.

The lowest rate was in the Saint John and St. Stephen region, at 6.8 per cent, up from 6.2 last year.

In Moncton and Richibucto, the rate was7.6 per cent, down from 8.5 per cent last year.

In Edmundston and Woodstock, the rate was7.8 per cent, up three percentage points from a year ago.

In Fredericton and Oromocto, the rate was 8.1 per cent, up from 6.3 per cent last year.