The number of jobs in British Columbia dropped slightly last month, with a slight gain in full-time positions failing to offset the loss of almost 11,000 part-time jobs, according to Statistics Canada data released Friday.

The data suggest that although B.C.’s labour force shrank 0.2 per cent over the last year, there was a slight gain of four per cent in overall employment.

Statistics Canada pegged B.C.’s unemployment rate at in May at 6.1 per cent, up from 5.8 per cent the month before.

That slight rise mirrors the uptick in the national unemployment rate, which rose unexpectedly last month.

The national jobless rate increased to 7 per cent from 6.9 per cent, even as part-time work drove employment up by 25,800, Statistics Canada said Friday in Ottawa. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projected a 25,000-job increase and 6.9 per cent unemployment, according to the median forecasts.

Full-time employment dropped by 29,100 in May while part-time positions increased by 54,900, Statistics Canada said. That’s in line with the trend over the last 12 months, where all the job gains have been in part-time work.

Slack has built up in the world’s 11th-largest economy this year as a harsh winter slowed production in the first quarter. The Bank of Canada said two days ago the “ingredients” for a slow return to full strength include rising global demand and a lower Canadian dollar that will support exports.

“The news isn’t great in the detail,” said Nick Exarhos, an economist at CIBC World Markets in Toronto. “Full-time job gains remain elusive.”

“Very poor composition to the Canadian jobs report with a big drop in full-time jobs,” Blake Jespersen, managing director of foreign exchange in Toronto at the Bank of Montreal, said by email.

The labour force grew by 40,900 people in May, keeping the participation rate at 66.1 per cent, the lowest since November 2001. The indicator peaked at 67.8 per cent in 2008 before the last recession.

Workers designated by Statistics Canada as employees rose by 66,200 in May, and the self-employed category decreased by 40,400. Private companies added 24,700 workers, and public-sector employment rose by 41,500 people last month.

Service-industry employment rose by 35,100 in May while jobs in goods production fell by 9,500, the report showed. Education rose by 21,500 and accommodation and food service work gained 19,500, Statistics Canada said. Natural resources companies trimmed their payrolls by 23,200 and manufacturing employment fell by 12,200.

Microsoft Corp. said May 1 it plans to open a Vancouver training and development centre with 400 employees, more than doubling its workforce in the city.

Average hourly wages of permanent employees rose 1.6 per cent in May from a year earlier, matching the April pace.

Alberta, home to some of the world’s largest crude oil reserves, had a 16,400 employment gain in May. Over the last 12 months the western province’s gain of 71,200 jobs has represents 80 per cent of the increase nationwide.

In a separate report, Statistics Canada said labour productivity declined for the first time in more than a year in the first quarter, falling 0.1 per cent after a 1.0 per cent gain in the previous three months.