Employment in Canada changed only slightly in May — a gain of 13,800 jobs — as a loss in part-time jobs offset a gain in full-time work, according to seasonally adjusted numbers released today by Statistics Canada.

The number of full-time jobs rose by 60,500 in May while part-time jobs fell by 46,800.

Compared to the same month a year ago, Canada was up 0.6% to 108,500 jobs in May, the result of gains in full-time work.

Canada’s unemployment rate fell to 6.9% in May from 7.1% in April.

Total employment in Canada was approximately 18.0 million in May.

By province, employment rose in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island, while it decreased in Alberta and Nova Scotia.

Employment in Ontario rose by 21,600 in May compared to the previous month, bringing the unemployment rate down to 6.6% from 7.0% in April. Adjusted to US concepts, the unemployment rate in Canada was 5.9% in May compared to 4.7% in the US. The province gained 40,100 full-time jobs lost 18,400 part-time jobs.

As a result of the wildfires affecting northern Alberta, which led to the evacuation of residents from the Fort McMurray area, data for May was not collected for the census agglomeration of Wood Buffalo. Because the population of Fort McMurray represents 2% of the population of Alberta, the impact of not collecting labor force data in Fort McMurray is minimal on the provincial employment estimates, and negligible on the national estimates, according to the report.