Saskatchewan’s labor market continues to be tight with employers facing challenges in finding talent to fill vacant job openings.
The latest figures on job vacancies show they are falling across the country as the national economy feels the pinch of tariffs. But it is less pronounced in Saskatchewan where more than 14,000 jobs remained unfilled in August.
That represents 2.8-percent of the overall workforce and it is among the highest vacancy rates in the country. Only BC and a couple Atlantic provinces were marginally higher. But when you superimpose that figure on the unemployment picture, Saskatchewan stands all alone on that one.
The ratio of unemployed people to vacancies is lower here than in any other province at 2.1. In other words, Saskatchewan has fewer unemployed people available to fill vacant slots making it tough for employers who have a proportionately smaller pool of candidates than their counterparts across the country.
The August report also shows that employers are offering more money to attract talent with the average weekly wage in the province rising more than $40 in the past year.
