The rise in the number of jobless people was largely as a result of an influx of workers into the local economy, with 2,300 people joining the Ottawa-Gatineau labour force.
“We saw some declines in November and December but it looks like that’s now come to an end,” said Statistics Canada analyst Vincent Ferrao in a statement, pointing out that the February gain was very similar to the one recorded in January.
The creation of jobs was repeated elsewhere in the country, leading to an overall employment gain of 21,000 and a 0.1-percentage-point decline in the unemployment rate, to 8.2 per cent.
Mr. Ferrao said Ottawa-Gatineau’s month-over-month gain was due largely to an increase in the public administration sector. The various levels of government created roughly 2,000 jobs, with public administration employment rising to 161,100 in February, although Mr. Ferrao cautioned that the numbers are not seasonally adjusted.
However, a sizable decline was also recorded in the high-tech sector, which employed roughly 47,700 people in February, down from 50,700 in the previous month.
That decline contributed to lower job numbers for computer and electronic products manufacturing, Mr. Ferrao said, leading to the cutting of roughly 2,400 jobs in the overall manufacturing sector, which employed 29,900 people during the month.
High-tech employment also took a hit year-over-year, with the sector losing about 7,400 jobs over the 12-month period leading up to February 2010.
The largest year-over-year plunge, however, was recorded in the educational services sector, which cut 12,400 jobs to end up with 46,300 in February.
The information, culture and recreation industries also reported a significant 8,000-job loss in comparison with a year earlier, ending up with 26,400.
Still, overall employment is up slightly compared to a year earlier, largely because of strong gains in the health care and social assistance sector, which was also a key factor in the national gain.
About 74,600 people worked in that segment in Ottawa-Gatineau during the month, an increase of 10,900 jobs compared to the same month in 2009.
Public administration also played a role in the 12-month gain, adding 9,000 jobs over the past year.
