OTTAWA — Transportation and warehousing industries led another surge in Canadian employment in March.

Following two months of large gains, employment edged up slightly by 15,000 more jobs last month, reports Stats Canada in most recent recent Labour Force survey.

Over the past 12 months, employment has grown by an estimated 325,000 (+1.9%).

Employment in the transportation and warehousing industry alone rose by an estimated 20,000 in March, offset by losses in information, culture and recreation. In the last year, employment in transportation and warehousing has risen 5.1 percent (+42,000) with gains mostly in Ontario and Quebec.

In total, however, Alberta and B.C. were the only provinces with notable employment gains. These provinces also set new records, as British Columbia’s employment rate reached a high of 64 percent, and Alberta’s participation rate hit 74.7 percent, the highest of any province.

There was a decrease in the estimated number of actual hours worked, however (-0.9%). That was attributed to a number of factors including inclement weather in Central and Eastern Canada, a larger than usual number of people reporting absence from work due to vacation, as well as a shift from full-time to part-time employment in a number of industries.