The federal New Democratic Party says Statistics Canada's employment figures show job losses, even though that's not the agency's own interpretation.

In a "reality check" released this morning, the Jack Layton led NDP said, "Statistics Canada reported today that Canada lost jobs in March."

Compare that to the summary in StatsCan's own The Daily newsletter: "Overall employment was unchanged in March."

StatsCan noted that there were gains in full-time work offset by declines in part-time jobs. The unemployment rate dropped slightly, and "Over the past 12 months, employment has risen by 1.8 [percent] (+305,000)."

The NDP's release notes 15,000 jobs were lost from Feb. to March in Quebec, 3,200 in Alberta and 9,400 in the manufacturing sector. The losses are evidence that Prime Minister Stephen Harper's tax cuts aren't working, it said.

Countrywide, according to StatsCan, "Full-time employment rose by 91,000 in March, and was offset by a decline of 92,000 in part time."

Andrew MacLeod is The Tyee’s Legislative Bureau Chief in Victoria. Reach him here.