AG AT HEART OF JOB LOSSES

Released on January 11, 2002

Saskatchewan had a tough year on the jobs front in 2001, due mainly to

changes and challenges in agriculture.



Statistics Canada figures released today show that while other sectors

continued to show economic strength, agriculture accounted for 85 per cent

of jobs lost last year.



"Agriculture plays a bigger role in our economy than in any other

province," Economic and Co-operative Development Minister Eldon Lautermilch

said. "We're dealing with a sector in transition nationally, a sector

whose short-term problems are affecting other parts of the economy.



"But we need to put these numbers in context. While last year was a

difficult time because of agriculture and a general economic slowdown, it

was still the fourth highest on record for the number of people working in

Saskatchewan (472,300). And it naturally suffers by comparison to 2000,

when we had more people working than ever in our history (485,000)."



The minister said Saskatchewan has a solid economic foundation on which to

build, and that current indicators show strength of, and confidence in, the

economy. There were more jobs on an annual average last year in

manufacturing, construction, primary industries, finance, insurance and

real estate, and public administration.



Oil, gas and mineral production, retail and department store sales, and

building permit values are all up, with home building in urban areas up

substantially in December. The number of social assistance cases and

people collecting employment insurance benefits are both down significantly.



There were 472,300 people employed in Saskatchewan in 2001 (annual

average). That's down 12,700 jobs from the record year of 2000, but of

those losses, 10,800 jobs were in agriculture.



Saskatchewan had the third lowest unemployment rate in Canada at 5.8 per

cent in December (seasonally unadjusted), an increase of 0.9 percentage

points from the previous December, but well below the national rate of 7.6

per cent.



"We're concerned about our short-term job challenges, but they're best

addressed through continuing our responsible approach to economic

development that is seeing Saskatchewan grow," Lautermilch said. "That

means keeping to our agenda of good fiscal management, sustainable tax

cuts, new training programs for workers, and implementation of our new

economic blueprint, Partnership for Prosperity."



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For more information, contact:



Bob Ellis

Economic and Co-operative Development

Regina

Phone: (306) 787-1691