Statistics Canada’s labour force survey on Friday showed little improvement in March after a volatile few months that saw employment levels surge and then drop.

Economists had expected the economy to add 10,000 jobs and the unemployment rate to tick back up to 6.6%, according to consensus estimates published by BMO.

Canada’s economy remains sluggish as it added just 14,000 positions in March, doing little to reverse the “devastating” losses in January and February totalling nearly 110,000 jobs, economists say.

Greater Sudbury created 1,000 new full-time jobs in March, Statistics Canada says, as the city set a record for the most jobs it has ever had. Combined with a loss of 700 part-time positions, this led to an increase of 300 total jobs in March,

OTTAWA, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Canada's unemployment rate once again defied expectations and fell to a 16-month low in November as a solid gain in part-time jobs boosted the number of people employed for the third time in a row, data showed on Friday.