Saskatchewan’s job market was significantly more rational in July.
The monthly labor force survey which tracks employment levels came out Friday, showing Saskatchewan employers created 2,500 jobs more jobs.
The mix was not as favorable with more part-time positions and fewer full-time slots but it was the first reasonable monthly report of the year. Most other months this year saw numbers changing by 6,000: sometimes up and sometimes down.
The report also shows our working age population continues to grow. It rose by 1,900 over June while the number of people looking to join the workforce increased by 2,900.
All of this left us with an unemployment rate of 6-percent. We have usually held the lowest or second-lowest unemployment rate in the nation this year but July saw us fall back into third place behind Manitoba which made a big move to the front of the back, just ahead of Quebec.
The more critical metrics are the employment and participation rates. These track the percentage of the labor overall pool that is actually working and both improved in July in the province.
