Saskatchewan’s unemployment rate in March fell to its lowest levels since 2015, while year-over-year employment increased by 9,800 jobs from last March, according to a government news release.
A report that Statistics Canada released on April 5 indicates that Saskatchewan’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.9 per cent last month, down from six per cent in March 2018 and 5.8 per cent in February 2019, the news release explained. The unemployment rate was the second-lowest in the country and below the national average of 5.8 per cent.
This marks the eighth consecutive month of strong job gains for the province. These job gains were primarily full-time employment with full-time jobs up 9,200 from a year ago; part-time jobs increased by 800 positions.
Jobs in the private sector increased by 11,500 during the same time period.
On a seasonally-adjusted basis, there were 3,900 more jobs compared to this past February, an increase of 0.7 per cent, which was the third-highest percentage gain among provinces.
Other March highlights include:
- Saskatchewan recorded record-high levels for labour force, employment, full-time employment, and male and female employment
- Major year-over-year increases in agriculture of 3,400 positions; educational services jobs of 2,400; and health care and social assistance of 2,400 jobs
- An increase of 3,000 jobs in youth employment for seven consecutive months of year-over-year increases, with the seasonally adjusted youth unemployment rate the second-lowest in Canada
“With nearly 10,000 new jobs created in the last year, Saskatchewan employers are showing confidence in our economy in spite of the external headwinds we are facing,” said Jeremy Harrison, minister of Immigration and Career Training.
“We will continue to stand up for Saskatchewan people against federal policies that are destructive to Western Canadian jobs and that will threaten the momentum that our economy continues to show.”
