Statistics Canada reported the country’s unemployment rate remained stagnant at 7.2% in April, even as the economy added 12,500 new jobs.

Though Canadian Press says this slight pickup took the sting out of March’s massive job market contraction, it noted it wasn’t enough to put job creation on the positive side of the ledger for 2013.

Read: Job market cautious

Analysts had expected 15,000 new positions. And Canadian sentiment was further dampened on news that more than 23,000 part-time jobs were dropped at the same time as 36,000 full-time, public-sector jobs were added.

The lackluster data left many Canadians wondering which job markets they should be targeting to ensure they meet their financial, career and retirement goals.

Read: Help aging clients find work, protect wealth

One resource they could use is Workopolis’ list of the twenty hottest jobs in the country. It references the findings of a report entitled A Tale of Two Job Markets, which highlights the markets that currently offer low employment rates and good salaries, along with competitive benefits packages.

That report says, “High general unemployment is obscuring the fact that specialized talent is in short supply…[This] leads to candidate shortages, especially in technology and finance.”

Its list of profitable job positions includes lawyers, financial auditors and accountants, and investment analysts.

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