A rise in the number of full time jobs in Canada last month helped bump the nation's jobless rate to a 32-year low.

The jobless rate fell slightly from 6.4 per cent in February to 6.3 in March, as 51,000 new jobs were created in Canada's economy.

Analysts had expected only 21,000 new jobs in March.

The unemployment rate in Canada has been dropping in recent months, improving on a 30-year low reported by Statistics Canada late last year.

"The vast majority of the 44,000 of them were in fact full time jobs, and those are the kind we like because you get paid more, you get more benefits and more job security from those," said Linda Sims, CTV's business editor.

Statistics Canada said the most recent numbers reflect a pattern.

"This continues the long-term trend toward full-time employment growth in this country," said the agency, noting that part-time employment has remained around the same level for the past three years.

Much of the growth has been driven by a thriving youth labour market. Since September of last year, there has been an increase of 4.1 per cent in the number of young people aged 15 to 24 who hold jobs.

Across Canada jobs in the fields of information, culture and recreation increased by 17,000, with the most growth in those fields occurring in B.C. and Ontario.

Overall, the majority of the nation's job gains in March were reported in Ontario, where the construction and service-based industries have experienced strong growth, overshadowing a steady decline in manufacturing throughout the past 12 months.

About 31,000 jobs were created in the province in March, with about 22,000 of those going to the youth sector. Analysts suggested those numbers may have resulted from the Ontario college teachers strike that closed colleges for several weeks, giving students more time to work.

Ontario's March employment gains bring the province's total to 115,000 new jobs in the past 12 months.

British Columbia also saw an increase in employment in March, nudging the unemployment rate from 4.8 per cent -- a 30-year low set in February – down to 4.4 per cent.

Wages are also on the rise in Canada, with the average hourly wage up a whopping 3.5 per cent from 12 months ago. In Alberta wages are rising at twice the national rate, with a 7 per cent increase reported.

That province's booming economy has driven the number of jobs up by 3.7 per cent over the past 12 months, with 65,000 new jobs created in that period. Employment gains have been in the construction, professional, scientific and technical services, public administration and natural resources.

Several provinces also saw declines in employment rates in March. Newfoundland and Labrador lost 3,000 jobs in March, at the end of a 12-month period that has marked little growth. Unemployment increased by .6 percentage points to 15.7 per cent in March.

Prince Edward Island lost 1,000 jobs in March, nudging the unemployment rate up from 10.9 per cent to 12 per cent.

Statistics Canada also released seasonally adjusted, three-month moving average unemployment rates for major cities -- but cautions the figures may fluctuate widely because they are based on small statistical samples. (Previous month in brackets)

• St. John's, N.L. 8.8 (8.7)
• Halifax 5.0 (5.1)
• Saint John, N.B. 5.7 (5.6)
• Saguenay, Que. 7.8 (7.6)
• Quebec 5.5 (5.2)
• Trois-Rivieres, Que. 9.1 (8.8)
• Sherbrooke, Que. 8.3 (7.6)
• Montreal 9.4 (9.6)
• Gatineau, Que. 5.7 (5.5)
• Ottawa 5.0 (5.0)
• Kingston, Ont. 6.1 (5.6)
• Toronto 6.7 (6.7)
• Hamilton 5.5 (5.8)
• Kitchener, Ont. 5.2 (5.3)
• London, Ont. 6.0 (6.2)
• Oshawa, Ont. 6.5 (6.7)
• St. Catharines-Niagara, Ont. 6.7 (6.8)
• Sudbury, Ont. 8.2 (7.7)
• Thunder Bay, Ont. 7.4 (6.9)
• Windsor, Ont. 9.4 (8.9)
• Winnipeg 4.5 (4.3)
• Regina 4.9 (4.9)
• Saskatoon 5.4 (5.6)
• Calgary 3.4 (4.0)
• Edmonton 3.7 (4.0)
• Abbotsford, B.C. 4.4 (4.6)
• Vancouver 4.8 (4.9)
• Victoria 3.8 (4.0)