Following two months of large gains, employment edged up slightly in March (+15,000). A surge of entrants into the labour market caused the unemployment rate to move up 0.2 percentage points to 6.0 percent. Canada’s participation rate reached a new record high of 68.0 percent in March. Over the past 12 months, Canadian employment grew by an estimated 1.9 percent.

Part-time employment was up in March (+34,000), the largest increase in part time since November 2006. Over the past 12 months, full-time employment has grown at almost twice the pace (+2.1 percent) of part-time work (+1.1 percent).

Alberta and British Columbia were the only provinces with notable employment gains in March. These provinces also set new records, as British Columbia’s employment rate reached a high of 64.0 percent, and Alberta’s participation rate hit 74.7 percent, the highest of any province.

In March, employment gains were posted in transportation and warehousing and natural resources, with losses in information, culture and recreation.

Transportation and warehousing
Employment in the transportation and warehousing industry rose by an estimated 20,000 in March, offset by losses in information, culture and recreation (-24,000). Over the past 12 months, employment in transportation and warehousing has risen 5.1 percent with gains mostly in Ontario and Quebec.

Natural resources
Employment edged up in natural resources in March, after a dip over the previous two months, leaving this industry unchanged from one year ago.

Goods-producing sector
Over the March 2007 to March 2008 period, employment in the goods-producing sector was little changed, as gains in the construction industry were offset by manufacturing losses. At the same time, service sector employment grew by 2.4 percent, with public administration; professional scientific and technical services; health care and social assistance as well as transportation and warehousing adding the most workers.

Private sector
Over the first quarter of 2008, employment growth among private sector employees was stronger than that of the public sector. The growth among private sector employees was driven by gains in professional, scientific and technical services and construction. Self-employment fell in the first quarter of 2008.

British Columbia
British Columbia led employment gains in March with an estimated increase of 15,000, pushing the employment rate to a new record high of 64.0 percent. Employment gains were widespread across several industries. With higher participation, the province’s unemployment rate edged up 0.2 percentage points to 4.3 percent in March. Over the last 12 months, employment in British Columbia was up 55,000 (+2.4 percent), with half of the gains in construction.

Alberta
In March, Alberta added 10,000 workers, pushing the province’s employment level above the two million mark for the first time. Alberta leads the country’s 12 month employment growth (+3.4 percent), with strength in both the goods and the service sector. The March unemployment rate of 3.4 percent remains the lowest in Canada.

Ontario
Following a strong February, Ontario’s employment was unchanged in March as gains in part-time employment (+23,000) offset losses in full-time work (-25,000). The province’s unemployment rate edged up 0.3 percentage points to 6.4 percent in March, the result of a boost in the labour force. Over the past 12 months, employment has risen by 1.8 percent, driven by gains in educational services; public administration and business, building and other support services.

Quebec
Employment in Quebec was also little changed in March, while the unemployment rate increased by 0.3 percentage points to 7.3 percent. Over the last 12 months, employment has risen 1.5 percent in the province, with the largest gains in construction and professional, scientific and technical services industries.

Strongest growth among older workers
In March, employment among older workers (55 years and older) increased by 24,000, building on the strong gains of the past year. Older workers have shown the fastest employment increase of all age groups over the past 12 months, with an annual growth rate of 7.8 percent, well above the 0.9 percent for core-aged (25 to 54 years) workers.

4 Apr 2008