More people were working in the NWT in the month of March than the previous month, according to the territory's Bureau of Statistics.

The latest numbers released Friday showed the NWT adding around 600 jobs last month to bring the total number of employed people up to around 23,700. That means an employment rate of 68.1 per cent with the territory's unemployment rate dropping to 3.6 per cent, the lowest level since November 2023, according to the bureau.

Most of those new jobs are part-time within the service sector.

When compared with March 2024, overall employment within the territory was up by around 1,200 positions, again led by the service sector. Other sectors seeing a bump upward included the public service, mining, oil and gas and forestry. The sectors losing jobs included education, construction, recreation and information.

The largest age demographic boost in the last 12 months was in those between the ages of 15 and 24, going from 40.7 per cent to 47.3 per cent. Those living outside Yellowknife saw a four per cent increase (56 per cent to 60 per cent), while more Indigenous people found employment in the last 12 months (52.2 per cent to 56 per cent).

Among the provinces and territories, Yukon had the highest employment rate at 71.8 per cent, while Newfoundland and Labrador was the lowest at 49.5 per cent.

The country as a whole lost 33,000 jobs in March, the biggest shedding of positions since January 2022, according to Statistics Canada. That meant the national unemployment rate ticked up to 6.7 per cent from 6.5 per cent in February. A total of 62,000 full-time jobs were lost, which were offset by gains in part-time employment.

The labour update for April is scheduled to be published in May 9.