In a report Thursday, Statistics Canada said employment increased by 82,000 in March, following a decline of 2,800 in February, bringing the unemployment rate down 0.2 percentage points to 7.2 percent. In March, Canada added the most jobs since September 2008. Employment was also 1.1 percent higher than in March 2011.
Canadian manufacturing employment edged up 0.7 percentage points in March, the fourth consecutive month of modest increases, although employment fell 1.2 percent compared to March 2011. Construction employment also rose 0.7 percentage points in March and increased 1 percent year-on-year.