Ottawa: Job losses continue to mount in the nation’s capital, with the latest figures showing more than 5,000 jobs were lost in August. According to the August survey report from Statistics Canada, the city’s unemployment rate increased to 6.8 percent in August from 6.4 percent in July.
The city’s unemployment rate has been on a steady rise since April, when it stood at 5.5 percent. In the past five months, a total of 20,000 jobs have been lost in the Ottawa economy. The federal agency reports that 10,100 jobs were lost in June, 900 in July, 3,800 in May, and 1,900 in April.
Across Canada, the unemployment rate rose to 7.1 percent in August, with 66,000 jobs lost nationwide. In Gatineau, 1,000 jobs were lost in August, but the unemployment rate held steady at 6.6 percent. Kingston, which saw an increase of 500 jobs last month, also maintained a stable unemployment rate of 6.8 percent.
