New Brunswick adds 1,800 jobs, unemployment rate drops to 7.3% in May

New Brunswick's economy added 1,800 new jobs in May, according to Statistics Canada's monthly labour force survey.

The unemployment rate declined to 7.3 per cent, a drop of 0.7 percentagepoints,the agency said on Friday.

• New Brunswick gains 1,100 jobs in April, though unemployment rate remains unchanged
• Canadian economy lost 1,100 jobs in April, but jobless rate holds steady at 5.8%
• N.B. employers have jobs they can't fill so they're looking south for job-seekers

Meanwhile,2,800 full-time jobs were added and 1,000 part-time jobs were lostacross the province.

At the same time, Canada lost about 7,500 jobs, according to figures released.

Despite the small drop in the number of people working, the national unemployment rate held steady at 5.8 per cent last month.

Now and a year ago

Campbellton and Miramichi saw the biggest change in theunemployment rate from last year to this year. The rate dropped to9.1 per cent from 12 per cent.

Elsewhere in the province, the unemployment rate barely changed.

In the Saint John and St. Stephen area, unemployment rose slightly, to 5.9 per cent from 5. 8 per cent a year ago.

In the Fredericton and Oromocto area, unemployment hovered around 5.4 per cent, a slight increase from 5.3 per cent this time last year.

In the Edmundston and Woodstock area, the unemployment rate was 3.3 per cent, downfrom 3.6 per cent.

Moncton's unemployment rate is at 9.4 per cent, an increase from 9 per cent.