Canada's job market added about 15,000 jobs in February, less than expected but enough to nudge the unemployment rate down one-10th of a percentage point to 5.8%
Statistics Canada reported Friday that the health-care and social assistance sectors added jobs, while wholesale and retail trade, and manufacturing all shrank.
By province, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia added jobs, while Saskatchewan lost some.
There was little change everywhere else.
While the job market expanded somewhat, it comes after a huge loss of 88,000 positions the previous month.
Part-time jobs accounted for all of the gains (up by 54,700 positions), while full-time jobs declined for the first time in six months, losing almost 40,000 jobs.
Most of the gains were driven by public-sector employment, which increased by 50,000 jobs.
Most economists agree that public-sector job growth isn't sustainable, and private-sector job gains are needed to maintain growth. But the economy only added 8,000 of those during the month, while losing 43,000 self-employed positions.
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