The Canadian economy added 41,000 jobs during February, as employment gains still lag behind the country's strong population growth.

The labor force survey conducted by the federal agency and released today, Friday, showed that the unemployment rate rose to 5.8 percent last month.

Job gains were spread across many industries in the service production sector, with the strongest employment growth in accommodation and food services.

High interest rates represent a burden on the economy as consumers pull back on spending, causing a slowdown in business sales. However, strong population growth seems to offset some of these effects, including in the labor market.

The high population growth has led to more consumers and workers being added to the economy, allowing for continued job gains in the country.

But other employment measures paint a weaker picture of the labor market.

Statistics Canada has recently focused more on the employment rate in its reports to see if job gains keep pace with population growth.

The federal agency indicates in today's report that the employment rate – representing the percentage of Canadians aged 15 and over who are working – declined for the fifth consecutive month in February.

This is the longest period of consecutive declines since the six months ending in April 2009.

Meanwhile, wages continue to grow rapidly in Canada. The average hourly wage rose by 5% compared to last year, down from a rate of 5.3% in January.