It doesn’t get as much attention as the monthly jobs report, but another monthly measure of the labor market also offers some interesting insights into the workings of the local economy. And Saskatchewan remains an attractive place for people seeking employment or career opportunities.
StatsCanada issues the job vacancy and payroll report towards the end of each month and while it lags the labor force survey or job numbers, by a few weeks, it still provides some worthwhile data.
The latest one – for February – shows Saskatchewan’s job vacancy rate tightened up a bit. It is now 3.1-percent: number four in the country.
In other words, employers are filling jobs. Payrolls now have 14,000 more names than a year earlier, a gain of 2.8-percent which is tops in the land, as our workforce grows faster than any other province.
These data suggest people are moving here, they are finding opportunity which correlates with other population numbers showing Saskatchewan’s retention rate is also rising. And we still have 16,000 open spots.
