Statistics Canada reports that Ottawa-Gatineau's unemployment rate in October rose only point one per cent to 4.9 per cent.
This despite the fact the tech sector had its worst month in over six years, shedding 4,000 jobs. The region has the second best employment stats in all the major eastern Canadian cities monitored by Statistics Canada.
The growth was in part due to hiring in other sectors. Retail and wholesale sectors have added a total of 16,000 jobs compared to one year ago. Meanwhile, government has added 9,000 jobs and 7,000 positions have been added to the education field.
Jeffrey Dale, head of the economic development agency OCRI, says he has heard of many firms laying off small numbers of people and that all the small layoffs are rapidly adding up since the capital's tech sector is now made up of more than 3,000 smaller firms.
Dale says some customers are already deciding not to buy, while others are even cancelling signed contracts and facing the risk of lawsuits.
Mitel is the latest firm to announce layoffs. Officials won't say how many, but indicate the cuts are across the board. In July, CEO Don Smith told CTV Ottawa the company was in a growth position but the global economic slowdown is having an affect.
In the last year, Ottawa has had only one month of positive job growth in technology, but other sectors have been steadily adding jobs.
Last month, the region created 1,900 new jobs, although 2,200 people entered the workforce. The entire workforce has added 11,000 jobs over the last year.
However, there are mixed opinions whether the downturn will be short-lived or long-lasting. The next big announcement will be Nov. 10 when Nortel will outline its next round of re-organization and restructuring. Analysts have been quoted as saying Nortel could trim 3,000-5,000 jobs across the company as it continues to struggle with falling revenues.
