SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The territory's unemployment rate rose to 7.8 per cent in March from 5.9 per cent in February, while Canada's rate remained steady at 8.8 per cent, Statistics Canada announced last week.

The hike in unemployment follows three straight months of employment growth for the NWT.

Part-time jobs accounted for most of the losses, the agency said. It added the number of private sector and self-employment jobs decreased, while the public sector experienced no change.

Employment gains made in goods-producing industries were offset by those lost in service, Statistics Canada said.

"If unemployment is up, obviously that's a negative sign, not very encouraging. However, you kind of expect these rates to fluctuate until things kind of really settle," said Patrick Doyle, president of the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce, adding he couldn't speculate on whether the trend will continue.

"It's not a trend that we want to see continued."

The NWT's Department of Education, Culture and Employment focuses more on the employment rather than the unemployment rates, said Gloria Iatridis, assistant deputy minister with advanced education and careers.

The NWT's employment rate in March was 63.5 per cent, compared to Canada's which stood at 60.5 per cent for that same month. She added when the employment rate drops, the department usually experiences an increase of residents participating in education, training and employment opportunities.

"We're not concerned about the slight drop because, like the rest of Canada, the NWT is still recovering from an economic recession and it takes time," she said.

"I think it's (recovery) going well, considering that we're still slightly higher than the Canadian average."