Canadian unemployment sits at 7%

Canada added 51,000 jobs in February, but the unemployment rate did not budge, holding at 7 percent, Statistics Canada said Friday. The job gains come on the heels of January when 22,000 jobs were lost. In the past 12 months, the Canadian economy has added 336,000 jobs, a 1.9 percent gain, "predominantly in full-time work," the monthly report said. The average number of hours worked in the previous 12 months also rose 1.7 percent, a 0.2 percentage point increase from January. The data agency said there was little change in the month among workers less than 55 years old or among those who are self-employed. Most of the new jobs were in service-oriented work, the agency said.