Ottawa unemployment steady at 6.3 per cent

Ottawa’s unemployment rate held steady in December, ending three months of increases, according to Statistics Canada.

The national statistics watchdog said the creation of 5,400 new jobs in the region helped to keep the unemployment rate at 6.3 per cent during the month.

More than 697,800 Ottawa residents were employed during the month, up from 692,400 in November.

According to Statistics Canada, 71.6 per cent of 745,000 eligible workers are actively seeking jobs. In November, 71.1 per cent of eligible workers were employed or seeking employment.

The jobless rate bottomed out at 5.2 per cent in August. These numbers are adjusted for seasonal influences.

Despite the federal government’s austerity plans, public administration added almost 6,000 jobs in December, growing to 116,000 from 110,900 in November.

Nationally, the Canadian economy added fewer jobs than expected in December but still managed to bounce back from declines in the previous two months.

Statistics Canada said Friday that 17,500 jobs were created last month, even as the unemployment rate edged up to 7.5 per cent from 7.4 per cent in November as more people entered the labour market in search of work, the agency said. The gains follow 54,000 job losses in October and another 18,600 in November.

Economists had expected 20,000 jobs to be added in December.

“Taking the string of the last few months together, Canada’s job market still looks soft, and a rising unemployment rate has been in contrast with the drop seen stateside, said Avery Shenfeld, chief economist at CIBC World Markets.

“We may have less reason to feel smug about Canadian outperformance, at least in terms of the near-term growth trend.”

December saw an increase of 43,000 in part-time work, while full-time employment declined by 26,000 positions. Most of those job gains, 3,800, were in the private sector, while public-sector employment fell by 17,300.

“Over the past 12 months, employment growth totalled 1.2 per cent (199,000), with nearly all of the gains in the first half of the year,” Statistics Canada said.

Ontario gained 15,700 jobs in December, reducing its unemployment rate by 0.2 percentage points to 7.7 per cent.

Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, said “while far from stellar, the modest job gain is a mild relief after two months of declines.”

“The good news was that manufacturing was up 30,000, as the sector had shed almost 80,000 jobs in the prior three months alone. On the weak side, construction and finance and real estate posted double-digit drops,” he said.

On Thursday, a survey by the Economic Club of Canada and Pollara Strategic Insights showed 70 per cent of Canadians believe this country is already in another recession, albeit a mild one Michael Marzolini, chairman of Pollara, said the survey unveiled “the most pessimistic findings we’ve had in 16 years.”

“Canadians are more self-centred. They believe themselves under siege,” he said in releasing the poll results.

Francis Fong, at TD Economics, said Canada’s unemployment rate is expected “to continue treading higher, likely to about 7.7 per cent, while job gains will average a paltry 10,000 per month, more heavily weighted to the second half of the year.”

“Government hiring is likely to remain under pressure in the coming months and private sector hiring will likely be tested by further deterioration in Europe’s debt crisis.”