Ontario's bleeding of jobs paused even though the provincial unemployment rate rose slightly and the national rate rose three-tenths of a point in December to 6.6 per cent.

The new national rate is a three-year high for Canada.

The national economy lost a total of 34,400 jobs. Economists had predicted job losses of about 20,000.

Full-time employment fell nationally by 70,700 jobs, but was offset by a gain of 36,200 part-time jobs.

Ontario didn't get clobbered last month the way it did November, when it accounted for 66,000 of the 71,000 jobs lost in Canada that month -- the worst month for national job losses since 1982.

The number of full-time jobs in Ontario rose by 800 in December and the number of part-time jobs rose by 1,000, but growth in the labour force and the number of unemployed pushed up the unemployment rate, Danielle Zietsma, a senior economist with Statistics Canada, told ctvtoronto.ca on Friday.

People can be classed as unemployed if they lost a job or if they are attempting to re-enter the workforce, she said.

"If the share of the unemployed goes up faster than the share of the employed, then the unemployment rate goes up," Zietsma said.

For that reason, one can sometimes see the unemployment rate rise even in strong job markets, she said.

The Ontario rate increased to 7.2 per cent from 7.1 per cent in November.

 The unemployment rate in Ontario was 0.7 per cent higher in December 2008 than it was in December 2007.

"As far as I'm concerned, none of these changes are significant," Zietsma said.

Ontario is down 22,100 full-time jobs compared to December 2007, but up 59,100 part-time jobs compared to that time. On the year, it is up 37,000 jobs.

Public sector jobs decreased by 11,000, but private sector jobs rose by 32,000 and self-employment by another 16,000, she said.

Manufacturing is down 49,000 jobs on the year, Zietsma said.

With many auto assembly plants scheduled to temporarily shut down in January, Ontario's employment rate for that month could rise -- although it could fall again in February if the workers are all recalled, she said.

Cities

Here are the unemployment rates for selected Ontario cities (November figure in brackets). Keep in mind that small sample sizes could mean any fluctuations are due to statistical error:

  • Toronto - 7.2 per cent (7.0; it was 6.7 per cent in January 2008)
  • Hamilton - 6.9 (6.5)
  • Kingston - 4.4 (4.7)
  • Kitchener - 7.7 (6.5)
  • London - 7.2 (6.9)
  • Oshawa - 7.8 (7.8)
  • Ottawa - 4.5 (4.7)
  • St. Catharines-Niagara - 8.8 (8.2)
  • Windsor - 10.1 (10.1)

At a pre-budget town hall meeting in Thornhill on Friday, federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Canada can continue to expect "substantial job losses" in 2009.
 
He suggested the Jan. 27 federal budget will expand job training and work-sharing opportunities.