Canadian employers added 97,000 new jobs in May as the unemployment rate fell by 0.3 percentage points to 6.1%, its lowest rate since December 1974.

According to Statistics Canada, all of May’s employment increase was in full-time positions, as about 151,000 new jobs were created. That monthly increase was the largest on record.

StatsCansaid the jump was due to new entrants to the labour market obtaining full-time employment. The month saw a decrease of about 54,000 part-time positions.

The big gain in job growth handily surpassed economists’ expectations. Market watches had been predicting employment to grow by 20,000 last month.

Through the first five months of this year, employment across the country is up by about 220,000 jobs, for an increase of 1.4%, StatsCan said today.

Job growth continued to surge ahead in Alberta, but Statistics Canada also reported large increases in Ontario and Quebec in May.

“Strength in the service industries in Ontario and Quebec more than offset continued declines in manufacturing,” the government agency said.

The largest employment gains came in finance, insurance, real estate and leasing, health care and social assistance, and public administration.

Employment fell last month in manufacturing and educational services.