Canadian employment rose by 41,000, or 0.2 per cent, to 20.403 million in February. The unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 5.8 per cent. Average hourly wages rose 5 per cent year-over-year to $34.82 last month, while total hours worked were up 1.3 per cent from February of last year.

Employment in BC rose 0.2 per cent to 2.841 million, while employment in Metro Vancouver rose 0.2 per cent to 1.615 million in February. The unemployment rate fell 0.2 points in BC to 5.2 per cent while falling in Metro Vancouver by 0.5 points to 5 per cent last month.

Copyright British Columbia Real Estate Association. Reprinted with permission.