Canada adds jobs in March, unemployment steady at 5.8 pc

Canada gained 32,000 jobs in March, but the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.8 per cent, official data published today said.

Over the past two years, employment has been on an "upward trend," said Statistics Canada, but took a dive at the start of 2018 when unemployment hit 5.9 per cent in January.

Job creation since then has been in line with analysts' expectations, with the latest gains driven mostly by the hiring of full-time staff.

In March, employment increased for women aged 25 to 54 years while it fell for men in this core population.

Youth saw a bump in employment.

More people were working in construction, public administration and agriculture, while the number of public sector employees also edged up.

Employment was flat throughout most of the country, except Quebec and Saskatchewan, which saw net job gains.

The country's unemployment rate fell in December to 5.7 per cent, the lowest level in 42 years.