Statistics Canada says the jobless rate fell in April to another record low as employment was little changed for the month with a gain of 1,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate came in at 5.2 per cent for April compared with the previous record low of 5.3 per cent set in March.

The drop in the rate came as the number of jobs in professional, scientific and technical services rose by 15,000 in April and the public administration category gained 17,000.

The number of people working in retail trade fell by 22,000 in April and those working in construction dropped by 21,000.

Statistics Canada says a number of signs point to an increasingly tight labour market in recent months including a drop in the number of part-time workers that would prefer full-time work.

The involuntary part-time employment rate fell to its lowest level on record at 15.7 per cent in April.

Average hourly wages were up 3.3 per cent year over year in April compared with a year-over-year gain of 3.4 per cent in March.

Statistics Canada also noted that the proportion of those making less than $20 per hour in April made up 25.9 per cent of all employees, down from 35.5 per cent in April 2019.

Meanwhile, employees earning $40 or more per hour represented 24.5 per cent of employees, up from 18.0 per cent three years earlier.

The effects of the pandemic continued to be felt in the economy as the total hours worked in April fell 1.9 per cent compared with March, due in part to illness-related absences from work. A blizzard in Manitoba also affected the hours worked in that province.