Last month, employment in Ottawa-Gatineau fell 3.5 per cent from the year before, a drop of roughly 32,000 jobs.
For the Ontario side of the capital region alone, it was the fourth straight month in which annual job growth shrank by more than 5 per cent. This makes it the deepest slump outside of the early pandemic period since records began in 2011, including the drop that occurred in 2013 when the former Harper government slashed 15,000 federal civil-service jobs as part of its deficit-reduction plan.
It’s a government + hospital + university town.
- Government is doing layoffs plus hiring freeze.
- Hospitals are underfunded by both Ontario and Quebec
- Universities now have foreign student and tuition caps, so are cutting programs and headcount.
I don’t know if it’s still accurate, but The Wealthy Renter had a stat of how much those sectors made up Ottawa employment and it was the majority.
It’s a bad time to be looking for work. I see regular posts on the Ottawa subreddit from folks who haven’t been able to find work. It’s scary.
I was laid off in September when my wife was 8 months pregnant with our first. I’m still trying to find a job and I’m out of savings.
If nothing else, spending all this time with my family is nice. Stress levels are high AF but I’m trying to enjoy the time anyway.
Found the stats: https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/as-sa/fogs-spg/page.cfm?lang=E&topic=12&dguid=2021S0503505
- Public Admin 23%
- Education 9%
- Healthcare 12%
That’s ~45% of jobs right there.
Isn’t there also a decent tech sector in Kanata? I imagine what’s happening with AI bubble isn’t helping with hiring there.
On the plus (if you really think this is a plus), there are few defence companies in Kanata. Perhaps they will hire more with the governments increase in defence spending.
But I thought sending everyone back to the office would stimulate the economy!
