New Brunswick’s labour force recorded a positive start to the year compared to the rest of the nation.
Statistics Canada’s January Labour Force Survey indicated a decrease in New Brunswick’s unemployment rate from 9.6% to 8.8%. The province also saw an increase of 1100 jobs due to the addition of 3500 new part-time jobs.
It is an admirable month for a province that recorded a surge in COVID-19 cases and subsequent closures and restrictions put in place to stop the spread.
Canada reported numbers that more accurately represented a country being overwhelmed by COVID-19 and its variants.
The nation’s unemployment rose to 9.6% accompanied by a loss of employment for 213000 Canadians. Both marks rank as the worst Canada has recorded since August.
A large factor for the country’s poor start to the year was the hurting retail trade sectors in Quebec and Ontario.
