By Doug Collins/ The Canadian Press

Unemployment rate nationally unchanged, B.C. leads all provinces — again

Mar 8, 2019 | 6:52 AM

OTTAWA — The unemployment rate held steady in February at 5.8 per cent. But Statistics Canada reports the economy added almost 56-thousand net new jobs as more people started looking for work.

When you add in the 66-thousand, 800 net new jobs created in January, the numbers represent the best two-month stretch of job creation since the spring of 2012.

Year-over-year average hourly wage growth in February for permanent employees was 2.3 per cent, up from January’s reading of 1.8 per cent.

B.C.’s unemployment rate of 4.5 percent was easily the best in Canada.

It’s down two-tenths of a point from last month’s rate of 4.7 percent, and the only province in Canada where the rate is under 5 percent.

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Manitoba and Quebec share second spot, at 5.3 percent.