Prospects for a sustained economic recovery brightened considerably Friday on news Canada created 60,000 full-time jobs last month. Roughly 21,000 net new jobs were added in February, pushing the national unemployment rate down to 8.2% from 8.3%.

But the better news was that 60,200 more workers found full-time employment, offset by a loss of 39,000 part-time jobs. Many of the full-time jobs went to men over 55, a group of workers that fared better than most during the recession.

The public sector added 45,600 jobs in February, while private employers shed 7,500 jobs. Those numbers reflect continued growth in health care, education and administration as well as a slow recovery in parts of the economy most hurt by the recession – manufacturing, transport and warehousing.

The Canadian jobs numbers were seen as solid evidence the economy was on the mend last month, particularly since they follow January’s pickup of 43,000 jobs and they continue a trend that began in July.

Since then, Canada has added 159,000 workers, recovering more than a third of the 417,000 jobs lost at the lowest point of the recession.

The Olympic effect was noticeable but mild. There was a pickup of 27,000 additional jobs in the accommodation and food services industries, but only 5,700 were in B.C. The warm weather would suggest a boost in construction jobs, but that category fell by 11,000.

If there was a negative aspect to the report, it was that 46,000 public service jobs were created in February. Economists prefer jobs to be created in the private, particularly exporting, sector.

The goods producing industries, which posted large losses during last year’s slump, fared well as troubled manufacturing picked up 17,000 workers, and natural resources rose 11,000.