2,800 Canadian jobs lost in February

Unemployed Canadians continued to find work hard to come by in February as 2,800 jobs were lost across the country.

However, a surprising decline in the size of the labour force meant the unemployment rate fell to 7.4 per cent.

A consensus of economic forecasts had predicted overall growth of at least 15,000 new jobs in the month, with the jobless rate staying steady at 7.6 per cent.

Speaking to reporters at an event in Toronto, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he was encouraged by some of the details of the jobs report, while being disappointed in the headline number.

"There are some positive elements that I think should not be ignored," he said. "The most important being that we are seeing a trend of the number of full-time jobs continue to increase."

Part-time jobs disappearing in favour of full-time jobs, Harper said, "gives us some reason for optimism going forward." Read More