P.E.I. job numbers bounce back in March

Following two months of decline, job numbers on P.E.I. had a strong recovery in March according to Statistics Canada's labour force survey.

The recovery, seasonally-adjusted from February to March, was good on all fronts, with increases in full- and part-time jobs, and more people entering the labour force.

• Full-time jobs: Up 1,600 to 65,000.
• Part-time jobs: Up 400 to 12,000.
• Labour force: Up 900 to 84,500.

The net result is a drop in the unemployment rate from 10.3 to 8.9 per cent. The total of 77,000 jobs is the highest ever for the province.

UPEIeconomics Prof. Jim Sentance said month-to-month changes in the job numbers need to be interpreted with caution.

"I would imagine a good bit of it is noise in the numbers," said Sentance in an email to CBC News.

"It probably confirms that the generally good trend is continuing, and maybe the off numbers last couple of months aren't necessarily indicative of a downtrend."

The unemployment rate rose over 10 per cent in February, after a record nine months in a row in single digits.

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