Saskatchewan has maintained the lowest unemployment rate in the country for 26 consecutive months.
Saskatchewan’s unemployment rate was 4.5 per cent for the month of January, tied with Alberta for the lowest in Canada, and still well below the national average of 6.6 percent, according to a Statistics Canada report released today.
January was the first month since March 2014 that Saskatchewan experienced employment losses, losing 1,200 jobs compared to January 2014, and 8,400 since December 2014. January was only the fourth month that Saskatchewan experienced employment losses since 2007.
“We know the effect of low oil prices will be felt by Saskatchewan’s economy and labour market, and this month’s employment losses reflects that” Minister responsible for Immigration, Jobs, Skills and Training Jeremy Harrison said. “But it’s important to look at the big picture. This is just the fourth month of employment losses since 2007, we have maintained the lowest unemployment rate in the country and there are over 11,000 jobs available on Saskjobs.ca. Our province’s youth unemployment rate was 8.8 per cent, second lowest among the provinces behind Alberta (7.5 per cent), and below the national rate of 12.8 per cent.”
Employment grew by 1,100 in Regina and 3,900 in Saskatoon. There were a number of industries that experienced strong growth in January, including educational services (up 3,200), finance, insurance, real estate, and leasing (up 2,300) and construction (up 2,000).
“Saskatchewan’s economy has faced other challenging times in recent years, such as 2009, when oil prices fell and potash sales virtually disappeared. During that time, Saskatchewan led the country in job creation and our population continued to grow,” Harrison said. “Our economy is even more diversified now so we are well-positioned for the future.”
