New Brunswick adds 3,700 jobs in May

New Brunswicks unemployment rate dropped to 10.5 per cent in May as the economy added 3,700 jobs, according to Statistics Canada.

The jobless rate dropped to 10.5 per cent from 10.9 per cent in April, which is the 10th consecutive month the unemployment has been stuck in double digits.

There were 351,700 jobs in the province last month compared to 348,000 in April. The rise in jobs was fuelled mainly by part-time work. An additional 2,600 part-time jobs were created in May and 1,100 people landed full-time jobs.

The province's economic picture may look impressive compared to April, but New Brunswick has 4,500 fewer jobs than May 2012.

New Brunswicks job growth in May came as Canada generated 95,000 jobs in the same period, its best job creation month since 2002.

The unemployment rate in New Brunswicks two largest cities increased in the last month, however.

The unemployment rate in Moncton stood at 6.9 per cent in May compared to 6.7 per cent in April. Meanwhile, Saint Johns jobless rate increased to 10.2 per cent from 9.2 per cent in April.

The unemployment rate was also stuck above 10 per cent in three of five economic regions in the province.

The Campbellton-Miramichi regions jobless figure was 19.7 per cent in May compared to 19.1 per cent a year ago.

Edmundston-Woodstock had an unemployment rate of 12.3 per cent, which was largely unchanged since the same time last year, and Saint John-St. Stephens unemployment rate was 11.2 per cent, which is up from 9.6 per cent in May 2012.

Moncton-Richibuctos unemployment rate stood at 9.5 per cent in May, an increase over the samemonth last year when the rate was 8.2 per cent.

The lowest unemployment rate in the province was found in the capital region. The jobless figure in Fredericton-Oromocto was 7.5 per cent in May compared to 7.3 per cent in May 2012.