Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at 7% in January, unchanged from December, Statistics Canada reported Friday.

There were about 5,700 fewer Canadians working in January than in December, StatsCan said.

There were 18,000 more people working in retail and wholesale trade in January, bringing gains since August to 46,000 — an increase of 1.8%.

Manufacturing employment also saws gains, as the sector added 14,000 positions last month.

Health care and social assistance employment fell by 14,000 last month, while public administration saw a similar-sized pullback.

Employment declined by about 12,000 in the information, culture and recreation sector, bringing losses since August to 36,000.

Quebec led the country with 16,000 new jobs last month, with most of the gain coming in retail and wholesale trade, accommodation and food services and transportation and warehousing. The province’s unemployment rate edged down to 8.4% in January.

Employment in Ontario fell by 28,000, as a gain in part-time positions only partly made up for a decline of 51,000 full-time jobs.