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Number of jobs economists expected to be added in March: 10,500 Actual number of jobs added in March: 82,300 Unemployment rate expected by economists in March: 7.4% Actual unemployment rate: 7.2%

By Gordon Isfeld

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OTTAWA — Canada’s economy churned out a surprisingly robust 82,300 jobs in March, the biggest jump in more than three years, knocking the unemployment rate down to 7.2% for the first time since September 2011.

The jump in employment last month was the biggest since September 2008, led by full-time and private-sector hiring. That followed a loss of 2,800 positions in February, which had pushed the jobless rate to 7.4%.

‘The Canadian job market shook off its winter blues with authority in March’ — economist Doug Porter

Statistics Canada said Thursday the employment gains spanned several sectors, including health care and social assistance, as well as information, culture and recreation, and public administration. Job growth the manufacturing sector also edged up.

“This is a very positive print that was entirely unexpected by anyone in the consensus guessing game that must deal with a paucity of leading indicators,” said Scotia Capital economist Derek Holt. “The details are uniformly positive.”