Clearly, the great Saskatchewan job and people boom has been better for the cities than the rural areas.
Consider Regina: Canada’s fourth fastest-growing city that saw its population (including surrounding area) increase by 2.8 per cent last year to 237,758.
The increase was largely caused by immigration (4,350 more people) and births (3,086 more people).
And Saskatoon’s numbers were even better, as Canada’s third fastest growing city.
But what may be a little frustrating for rural folks is that the great Saskatchewan job and population boom may be coming to an end without rural Saskatchewan having participated in it as much as they hoped they would.
Not since before the Great Depression of our grandparents have we seen a growth spurt in Saskatchewan’s population like the one we saw from 2004 to 2014.
In that decade-long period, Saskatchewan grew by 128,098 people. And similar to that last period of growth, the vast majority of newcomers – 98,272 of the 128,098 or 76.7 per cent – were working-age people (between 15 and 64 years) who came here in search of job opportunities.
They didn’t come to seek welfare or unemployment cheques. During that decade period, unemployment fell from a respectable average of 5.3 per cent in 2004 to an unbelievably low 3.8 in 2014.
But it’s also quite clear that most of these people didn’t set up home in Saskatchewan for jobs in the oilpatch or the potash mines … although people in places like Kindersley, Swift Current, Weyburn, Estevan, Moosomin, Esterhazy, Lloydminster and Langenburg are surely thankful for the ones who did.
According to Statistics Canada, Saskatoon and Regina also have more working age people than just about anywhere in the country.
With 70.8 per cent of Saskatoon's population between 15 to 64 years, Saskatoon is well above the national average of 68.2 per cent and third highest in the nation behind only Calgary and Edmonton. Regina is also above the national average at 69.7 per cent of the population.
But what should be even more disconcerting is that two largest cities (still less than half the province’s population) are also well above the overall provincial average that indicates 66.6 per cent of people are between 15 and 64 years.
And it’s much worse in specific rural areas, according to StatsCan's numbers.
For example, the median age in Saskatchewan is now 36 years. We are actually younger than we’ve been in some time, but you might not know that by looking at rural Saskatchewan.
The median age in the Yorkton-Melville region is 43.4 years with only 61.1 per cent between 15 and 64 years and 20.9 per cent 65 and older.
In Swift Current-Moose Jaw, the median age is 42.2 years with only 63.7 per cent in working age category while 19.2 per cent are seniors.
The Prince Albert region fares a little better, with only 15.5 per cent seniors (still, slightly higher than Regina or Saskatoon), but there are still only 63.2 per cent in the 15 to 64 years category.
So despite making overall progress – Saskatchewan has gone from the highest rate of seniors in the 2006 census to the seventh highest percentage of seniors in the 2011 census – the rural areas still have more retirement-age folks than the cities.
Although many farmers don't subscribe to the notion of retirement at 65 years, this can’t be good news if we are now losing jobs. And in January, Saskatchewan had 1,200 fewer working people than a year earlier.
This is hardly reason for panic. This may not even be a trend.
But if we are headed for a downward slide, it’s not great news for rural Saskatchewan, which hasn’t benefited as much from the boom as the cities.
