Released on July 6, 2001
Saskatchewan's job numbers are improving. Statistics Canada figuresreleased today show the number of people employed in the province rose by
6,500 in June 2001 from the previous month.
With the improvement, Saskatchewan recorded the third lowest unemployment
rate in the country at 5.3 per cent in June, compared to the national rate
of 6.7 per cent.
The downturn in the agricultural economy continued to provide a challenge.
The Statistics Canada figures show a drop of 11,700 agricultural jobs from
June of the previous year. The agriculture downturn was felt in other
sectors such as trade and transportation, leading to a drop of 4,200 non-
agricultural jobs over the same period.
"The situation in agriculture is a national challenge, but it continues to
have a greater impact on Saskatchewan," Economic and Co-operative
Development Minister Eldon Lautermilch said. "We continue to press the
federal government for help in dealing with problems brought on by
international subsidies."
Lautermilch said the economy is performing well, despite the challenges in
agriculture. Manufacturing shipments, mineral production and retail sales
are all up year over year, as are the number of business incorporations.
Statistics Canada's Help-Wanted Index for June was also strong – year over
year Saskatchewan had the second highest percentage increase among the
provinces, indicating that its employers are looking to hire workers.
Job increases over last year were recorded in manufacturing, construction,
oil and gas, mining and forestry, as well as public administration.
Lautermilch said the number of people working last month – 481,500 – was
the 5th highest on record for the month of June.
"The challenges in agriculture speak to the need to further diversify our
economy, continuing on our course of the last decade," Lautermilch said.
"Our economy now has a much stronger base on which to build and through our
new economic strategy, Partnership for Prosperity, we will work with
Saskatchewan people to create a climate for new value-added businesses and
new value-added jobs."
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For more information, contact:
Bob Ellis
Economic and Co-operative Development
Regina
Phone: (306) 787-1691
Note to Editors: These are seasonally unadjusted figures as supplied by
Statistics Canada. Adjusted and unadjusted figures can be found on
Statistics Canada's website: www.statscan.ca