Employment in Canada was little changed in February from January with the number of jobs decreasing by just under 1,000, according to seasonally adjusted numbers released today by Statistics Canada. The number of full-time jobs rose by 34,000 while part-time jobs fell by 34,900.

Total employment in Canada was approximately 17.9 million in February, and the Canadian unemployment rate rose to 6.8% from January’s reading of 6.6%. Adjusted to the concepts used in the US, the unemployment rate in Canada was 5.9% in February, up 0.3 percentage points compared with January.

More people worked in construction and educational services in February, while employment declined in manufacturing; natural resources; information, culture and recreation. The number of public sector workers increased in February, but there was little change in the number of private sector employees and the self-employed.

By province, employment declined in Alberta, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, while it increased in Quebec. Ontario gained 60,200 full-time jobs but lost 46,200 part-time jobs during the month. Ontario’s unemployment remained at 6.9%.

Saskatchewan posted the lowest unemployment rate among all provinces in February, at 5.0%; Newfoundland and Labrador reported the highest at 12.6%.