Jobless rate jumps on P.E.I. as more people enter labour market
CBC
Prince Edward Island's unemployment rate jumped to 7.4 per cent in March, up from 7.0 per cent a month earlier.
That's according to the latest edition of Statistics Canada's monthly Labour Force Survey, which was released Friday morning.
The national unemployment rate was up slightly to 6.1 per cent, a full percentage point more than a year earlier.
A total of 7,300 people were unemployed on P.E.I. last month, which is up 15.9 per cent compared to March 2023.
The province lost only 100 jobs in March 2024, but the rate went up because 300 more people entered the labour force, looking for jobs.
The number of full-time jobs dropped by 1,100, offset by about the same number of part-time jobs being created.
Year over year, P.E.I. has added 5,400 jobs since last March, while the labour force grew by 6,100 people.
While his party has made a cause célèbre out of its battle with the Speaker, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has periodically waxed poetic about the House of Commons — suggesting that its green upholstery is meant to symbolize the fields of the English countryside where commoners met centuries ago before the signing of the Magna Carta.