Employment grew by 2% in PEI in February — unemployment rate dropped to 7.3%

Statistics Canada says employment grew by 2.0% in Prince Edward Island in February, adding 1,700 jobs.  That’s the second increase in three months. 2,400 more Prince Edward Islanders were employed full-time in February, and the province’s unemployment rate was 7.3%, which is down from 7.7 percent in January.  Nationally, employment rose slightly in February as the economy added 22,000 jobs.   The unemployment rate held steady at five per cent last month, hovering near record-lows. The latest jobs numbers come after the economy added 150,000 jobs in January, which had raised eyebrows among economists anticipating a slowdown in the labour market.