Released on October 5, 2007
Saskatchewan has now marked 18 straight months of record employment with the best September ever for people working in the province.
Statistics Canada figures released today show 504,400 people were working in the province last month (seasonally unadjusted figure). That beats by 5,300 the old mark for September set last year.
"The momentum in Saskatchewan's economy is well documented, and these latest record job numbers are another barometer of that," Finance Minister Pat Atkinson said on behalf of Industry and Resources Minister Maynard Sonntag. "These numbers follow other recent good news such as surging population numbers and record oil and gas land sales.
"More jobs speak to the opportunities that are out there for businesses, and to the benefits that Saskatchewan workers and families are seeing from our strong and prosperous economy."
Full-time employment was up by 5,100 over last September.
Average year to date employment is up by 12,200 for the first nine months of 2007 when compared to the same period last year.
Jobs were up last month in services, retail and wholesale trade, manufacturing, construction, finance, insurance and real estate, and public administration.
Other indicators also point to growth in the Saskatchewan economy. Potash production and sales, oil production, farm cash receipts, urban housing starts, international exports, retail sales, new motor vehicle sales and average weekly earnings are all up. Building permit values are up almost 98 per cent year over year.
Saskatchewan had the second lowest unemployment rate in Canada in September at 3.4 per cent (seasonally unadjusted), down .5 percentage points from September 2006 and well below the national rate of 5.5 per cent. That's the lowest September unemployment rate for Saskatchewan in almost 30 years. Saskatoon was tied for the second lowest unemployment rate among major Canadian cities at 4.2 per cent.
Saskatchewan Labour Force statistics can be found online at www.stats.gov.sk.ca.
-30-
For more information, contact:
Bob Ellis
Industry and Resources
Regina
Phone: 306-787-1691
Email: rellis@ir.gov.sk.ca