Premier Pauline Marois says that she is unperturbed by news of further job losses in Quebec, where 21,000 full-time jobs were created but 26,000 part-time jobs were eliminated last month.

One month earlier 30,000 jobs disappeared in Quebec.

Premier Marois said that her PQ government is concentrating on supporting Quebec businesses which are solid enough to keep hiring more people.

She made the comments Friday in Boucherville while announcing a $5 million interest-free loan to the Danone company as part of a $40 million investment.

Marois said that she remains optimistic about employment prospects, as numbers are improving across Canada and the United States.

Quebec has lost 45,000 jobs since the beginning of 2013, while 145,000 jobs have been created in the rest of Canada during that time.

Ontario and Alberta are the two provinces that are consistently increasing the amount of workers, with Alberta being in the fifth month of a consistent job creation trend.

44,000 new jobs, mostly part-time, were created in Ontario, with 15,000 more in Alberta.

The unemployment rate dropped slightly in Quebec, going from 8.2 percent to 7.9 percent as people gave up searching for work or left the province.

Nationwide the unemployment rate is 7.1 percent.

Greek yogourt investment

Marois was in Boucherville to shine a light on her government's role in the Danone expansion. The company is investing $40 million over five years to consolidate the production of its Oikos Greek yogurt after receiving a $5 million interest-free loan from the Quebec government.

The company says it has purchased equipment to help with the manufacturing and packaging of the yogurt at its head office plant on the south shore of Montreal.

The investment will create 10 direct jobs on top of the 15 already in place at the facility, plus 250 indirect jobs in the region.

"This investment not only confirms Danone's role as a major agent of economic development in Quebec, but reasserts its leadership as the country's largest yogurt producer," stated Nick Krzyzaniak, president and CEO of Danone in Canada.

Quebec Premier Pauline Marois and Industrial Policy Minister Elaine Zakaib both attended the announcement.

-With files from The Canadian Press