Toronto’s Regional Index: 58.8 percent
Losses of 10,400 positions in February bring total losses for the region to 27,500, resulting in another drop in Toronto’s Jobboom Index (−8.2). Toronto has been struggling since December when its employment status dropped to “fair”, after having spent July through September 2004 in the “excellent” category. This month’s Index ranks 70th out of 120. In other words, over the past 120 months, there were 50 months with lesser Indices. From February 1995 to February 2005, the number of jobs in Toronto rose by 30 percent.

Ottawa-Gatineau’s Regional Index: 87.2 percent
A loss of 3,200 jobs, reported by Statistics Canada, has resulted in a drop in Ottawa-Gatineau’s Jobboom Index (-5.9 percent). The drop, which follows previous monthly increases of 5.4, 7.0 and 3.1 percent, has pushed the region’s employment status below the “excellent” mark. Employment in the region is nonetheless “favourable” in contrast to Ottawa-Gatineau’s many months of stagnation with an Index below 80 percent. March’s Index ranks 14th out of 120. In other words, there were 106 months with lesser Indices over the past ten years. Over this same period, employment in the region grew by 23 percent.