Capital job market proves resilient

Ottawa-Gatineau one of just six centres to report drop in unemployment in August

By James Bagnall, The Ottawa CitizenSeptember 5, 2009


With Canada's jobs recession quickly approaching its first anniversary, the national capital region has so far emerged relatively intact.

The unemployment rate locally improved to 5.4 per cent in August from 5.9 per cent in July, according to a Statistics Canada report issued Friday. The numbers have been adjusted to take account of seasonal variations.

Ottawa-Gatineau was one of just six metropolitan centres across the country to record a drop in unemployment rates from July to August, and the capital region's was one of the sharpest declines.

And this was despite the fact that the unemployment rate in Gatineau actually increased from 5.4 per cent in July to 5.8 per cent in August. The Ontario side of the river saw unemployment rates slide to 5.2 per cent from 6.0 per cent over the same period.

Only five of Canada's top 27 metropolitan areas had a lower unemployment rate in August than the capital, with Regina the lowest at 4.1 per cent.

The city with the weakest job market was Windsor, the headquarters for Chrysler Canada, where unemployment was 14.8 per cent in August.

Over the past year, all cities but Saint John, N.B., have seen a rise in unemployment levels. However, Ottawa-Gatineau registered one of the smallest increases -- the unemployment rate of 5.4 per cent in August compares with a 5.1-per-cent jobless rate in August 2008.

For this relative stability, much thanks goes to the public sector, which accounts for one in four jobs locally.

Last month 165,500 jobs in Ottawa-Gatineau were in public administration, up 11,100 from August 2008. That was the biggest jump among the major economic sectors, in absolute terms. (Detailed data for economic sectors in Ottawa-Gatineau is seasonally unadjusted.)

The fastest-growing sectors in percentage terms were construction and finance.

Employment in the building trades reached 34,600 in August -- up 4,200, or 13.8 per cent, from the same month a year earlier.

Statistics Canada also reported that employment in finance, insurance, real estate and leasing jumped 7.6 per cent year-over-year to 35,600.

Not all sectors of the Ottawa-Gatineau economy are doing well, however.

One of the hardest hit has been hotels and restaurants, which have seen employment levels plummet 22.7 per cent year-over-year. That translates to 8,600 positions cut. A major factor has been the sharp rise in the value of Canadian currency, which has kept U.S. tourists away.

Retailers across the region have also shed jobs at a rapid rate as consumers have been more cautious about spending. The number of retailing jobs was down 15,300 last month from a year ago, a drop of 17.4 per cent.

High tech has also suffered, not least because of a steady stream of layoffs at Nortel, a major employer. Statistics Canada reported the number of high-tech jobs in August was 53,100 -- down 1,100 from July. Year-over-year, the decline was 14.1 per cent, representing 8,700 workers.

High-tech workers now account for fewer than eight per cent of the capital's employment base -- down from 13 per cent at the peak in 2000.