Saskatchewan’s labor market has been showing signs of strength for months but none of the indicators have been as strong as the ones delivered in last week’s monthly jobs report. Simply put, we were a unicorn.
Generally, we boast the second-lowest unemployment rate in the country, usually lagging a bit behind Quebec. But in April, it was all Saskatchewan as Quebec fell into third spot. Our unemployment rate fell by more than a half percentage point to sit at 4.3-percent. Economists often talk of five-percent as full employment so we are beyond that.
The province’s working age population is continuing to grow. It grew by nearly 2,000 in April.
Full-time employment rose by 7,200. The number of part-time positions fell but a good part of that change can be attributed to election workers finishing up their employment.
Employment rose in every region of the province when compared to the same month last year with the largest gains were seen in the southeast which includes Regina, Weyburn and Estevan.
