Canada Adds 14,100 Jobs in March, Rate at 6.7%

OTTAWA — Canada's labor market showed modest improvement in March, adding a net 14,100 jobs while the unemployment rate held steady at 6.7 percent, according to Statistics Canada data released Friday.

The gain marked the first increase in employment this year, reversing an 83,900-job drop in February but falling short of offsetting the combined 109,000 positions lost in January and February. Economists had anticipated around 15,000 new jobs and a slight rise in the unemployment rate to 6.8 percent. The labor force participation rate remained unchanged at 64.9 percent.

Job growth was driven primarily by part-time positions, which rose by 15,200, while full-time employment declined by 1,100. In sectoral breakdowns, the goods-producing industries added 12,500 jobs, led by gains in natural resources, which expanded by 10,000 positions or 3 percent, with nearly half in Alberta. The services sector, employing about four in five Canadian workers, saw a smaller increase of 1,700 jobs, concentrated in areas like other services including repair and maintenance, as well as professional, scientific and technical fields. Tariff-sensitive manufacturing recorded modest gains, though the sector...