By The Canadian Press

Jobless Numbers Tumble Nationally and Provincially and Jump Locally

Apr 8, 2016 | 7:27 AM

OTTAWA:  Canada’s labour market received a surge in full-time, private-sector work last month that helped drive the unemployment rate down to 7.1 per cent.

Statistics Canada’s latest labour force survey says the country gained 40,600 jobs in March compared to the previous month and 35,300 of them were full-time.

The agency says the increase knocked the jobless rate down from 7.3 per cent and was fuelled by the addition of 74,700 net new positions in the services sector.

It also says 65,100 jobs were created in the private sector, while the number of public-sector positions fell by 2,600.

Alberta’s unemployment rate slid to 7.1 per cent in March from 7.9 per cent the month before despite the fact the rate rose in both Calgary and Edmonton.

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For the Lethbridge-Medicine Hat region, the rate jumped more than half a point to 7.2 per cent in March, from 6.6 per cent in April. By comparison, the local jobless rate sat at 4.9 per cent in March of 2015.