OTTAWA

Ottawa's economy adds 6,000 jobs in April

Josh Pringle CTV News Ottawa Producer and Digital Lead

Published Friday, May 7, 2021 9:49AM EDT

A pedestrian walks past The Bank of Canada in Ottawa on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

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OTTAWA -- Ottawa's economy added 6,000 new jobs in April, despite new COVID-19 lockdown restrictions that forced non-essential businesses to close.

However, with more people looking for work in the capital last month, Ottawa's unemployment rate increased from 6.3 per cent in March to 6.7 per cent in April.

Ottawa's job gains bucked the national trend, as Statistics Canada reported the Canadian economy lost 207,000 jobs in April. Ontario saw a drop of 153,000 positions in April.

The Ontario government implemented a lockdown in Ottawa and across Ontario on April 3 in a bid to stop the spread of COVID-19. A stay-at-home order was issued the following week.

In Gatineau, the unemployment rate decreased from 7.3 per cent in March to 6.6 to April. One-thousand jobs were added to Gatineau's economy last month.

Kingston's economy lost 1,000 jobs in April, as the unemployment rate in the city increased to 7.9 per cent.