Saskatchewan's unemployment rate creeps up to 6.2%

Saskatchewan saw a boost in the number of people employed from February to March, but the province’s unemployment rate continues to rise.

The province’s unempoyment rate rose to 6.2 per cent in March, up from 5.9 per cent in February. Statistics Canada reports that while there were 2,800 new jobs, the labour force grew by 4,900.

Regina’s unemployment rate is now up to five per cent, compared to 4.6 per cent the month before. Saskatoon’s rate only saw a slight increase, up to 6.4 per cent compared to 6.3 per cent the month before.

Year over year, there were nearly 11,000 more people unemployed in Saskatchewan in March 2016 than in March 2015.

Nationally, a surge in full-time, private-sector work last month helped drive the unemployment rate down to 7.1 per cent. The country gained 40,600 jobs in March compared to the previous month — 35,300 of them were full-time.

With files from the Canadian Press.