That's well ahead of the 10,000 economists had expected, but the gains were all in part-time work.
In Saint John unemployment rate went up from 8.6% in July to 9% in August.
In the province unemployment was up from 10% to 10.4%.
At the Bank of Montreal, economist Doug Porter is saying the August report is a little better than expected, but underwhelming.
The latest jobs report is nearly a complete reversal of the picture in July, when the economy shed about 30-thousand jobs.