Saskatchewan’s economic outlook is not as bleak as elsewhere.
The province had strong wholesale trade numbers in April and there was also some positive news regarding retails sales.
Although retails sales in the province declined in April, the rate of decline was the lowest among the provinces.
Saskatchewan’s retail sales dropped 14.8 per cent between March and April 2020 (seasonally adjusted) to $1.26 billion. The national average was a decline of 26.4 per cent.
“Saskatchewan businesses have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 global pandemic, however due to the strength and resilience of our people and businesses, the effects have not been as significant as in other jurisdictions,” Trade and Export Development Minister Jeremy Harrison said in a press release. “Recent economic indicators, including the best wholesale trade numbers in Canada and the second lowest unemployment rate in the nation, show that our province has been weathering the COVID-19 storm better than other jurisdictions and that we are well positioned for a strong economic recovery in the near term.”
On a year-over-year basis, retail trade was down 23.7 per cent — third lowest in Canada — but below the national average decline rate of 32.5 per cent.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) recently released data that showed 63 per cent of Saskatchewan businesses remained fully open. That is the highest percentage of respondents in any province.
Businesses were also able to retain more employees than other provinces, with 66.2 per cent of businesses in Saskatchewan able to keep their employees during the pandemic. Moreover, just 7.6 per cent of businesses in the province laid-off 100 per cent of their work force, the least among the provinces.
