It’s good news for the Canadian job market as the employment rate begins to increase across the country.

According to a new report by Statistics Canada, just three months into the next year, employment increased by 41,000 in the month of March, lowering the unemployment rate to 7.1 per cent.

Photo Credit: Statistics Canada.

In March alone, employment grew by 0.2 per cent in the first quarter, up by 33,000, making it the fourth consecutive quarter in a row with that percentage of employment growth.

In the year up until this March, employment increased by 130,000.

In that time, more people became employed in Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan. Employment went down in P.E.I. and didn’t change much in other provinces.

Most of the companies employing more people in March were private.

Employment in British Columbia didn’t change much in March, but compared to a year ago gains totalled 72,000 or 3.2 per cent —the fastest growth rate of all the provinces.

In March, the unemployment rate stayed pretty steady in B.C. at 6.5 per cent, though it was up 0.6 percentage points compared to last year.