Hi-tech layoffs bump jobless rate

By DONNA CASEY, SUN MEDIA

The unemployment rate in Ottawa-Gatineau jumped in April, with more people pounding the pavement in a market that shed jobs for the fifth straight month.

Layoffs in the hi-tech sector caused the region's jobless rate to rise to 4.9% in April, up 0.3% from the previous month, said Vincent Ferrao, labour force survey analyst at Statistics Canada.

A total of 34,000 people said they were unemployed in April, with 1,300 jobs lost and 1,000 more people looking for work than in March.

Recent hi-tech layoffs were the source for most of the job losses in Ottawa-Gatineau, said Ferrao.

The five-month trend of rising jobless rates is in contrast with the strong growth of the same period last year, added Ferrao.


PUBLIC SECTOR GROWTH

The job bleeding in the hi-tech sector has been offset by growth in public sector jobs, with the region adding 22,000 new jobs in federal, provincial and municipal jobs, said Ferrao.

The national unemployment rate inched up by 0.1% to 6.1% in April.

Across Canada, 19,200 more people were looking for work but only 4,600 jobs were created.