Although Canada's employment numbers fell by more than 70,000 in November, pushing the unemployment rate to 6.3 per cent, those living in the capital enjoyed a positive outlook for employment.
According to numbers released by Statistics Canada, unemployment in the national capital region dropped slightly to 4.7 per cent with the creation of 900 jobs.
The positive outlook, however, comes as the tech sector shed another 1,800 jobs and government hiring dipped slightly. Retail, wholesale and education were the strongest sectors compared to 2007.
Ontario suffers most job loses
Across the country, the biggest drop in jobs was in Ontario, which lost a stunning 66,000 of the 71,000 jobs, according to Statistics Canada. The job losses were nearly evenly split between full- and part-time jobs.
"In November, the employment declines were concentrated in Ontario (-66,000), where there was a large drop in full-time work. Nova Scotia (-4,400) also experienced a decline in November, while employment remained relatively stable in the other provinces," a StatsCan press release said.
According to Statistics Canada:
- The manufacturing sector was hard hit in November, with a net employment drop of 38,000.
- The November numbers brought manufacturing declines to 388,000 since the peak in 2002.
- In Ontario, the employment declines in this sector totalled 42,000 in November.
"Following gains in October associated with hiring for the federal election, employment in public administration fell by 27,000 in November," said the Statistics Canada release.
The November statistics cut into the total number of jobs created so far this year. The accumulated gain is at 133,000, well below last year's 361,000 January-through-November numbers. Ontario's job losses were mostly due to the beleaguered manufacturing sector, which lost 42,000 jobs.
About 27,000 people were also laid off in the public administration sector, which had temporarily hired workers for the Oct. 14 federal election.
