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After hitting a 20-year high in February, Alberta’s unemployment rate dropped by nearly a full point in March, as employment in the province climbed by 18,900, Statistics Canada reported on Friday.

The unemployment rate dropped 0.8 points to 7.1 per cent, as the province saw employment gains from increases in retail and wholesale trade, according to the federal agency.

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The monthly job gain came largely from an increase in full-time employment compared with February, with 14,500 jobs added. Part-time employment was up 4,300.

The increase even included a modest increase in employment in the hard-hit natural resources sector — up 800 jobs, or 0.5 per cent for the month. However, compared with March 2015, the sector remains down sharply — 10.4 per cent, or 17,400 jobs.

Despite the gains in the top-line figures, StatsCan reported that the total hours worked in the province were down 0.7 per cent, “continuing on a downward trend that began in early 2015.”

Unemployment climbed slightly from March in Alberta’s major cities, rising 0.2 points in Calgary to 8.6 per cent, and 0.1 points in Edmonton to 6.9 per cent, though StatsCan cautions the figures may fluctuate widely because they are based on small statistical samples.

The province’s 7.1 per cent unemployment rate was 1.5 points higher than it was in March 2015. That’s mainly due to an increase in people looking for work, as the number of people working was little changed year-over-year — down just 0.2 per cent.

Although the employment numbers are similar to 2015, the number of people working full time has dropped by nearly 25,000 — about 1.3 per cent. Part-time employment, meanwhile, is up more than 19,000 (4.9 per cent).

Nationally, the unemployment rate was down 0.2 points from February, as overall employment in the country grew by 41,000.