Released on March 22, 2012
The number of people in Saskatchewan receiving Employment Insurance (EI) dropped in January 2012 compared to the same month in 2011.
There were 10,130 beneficiaries receiving regular EI benefits in Saskatchewan, a decrease of 1,610 (-13.7 per cent) from January 2011. This signals 22 consecutive months of year-over-year decreases.
"Saskatchewan continues to shine as an excellent place to make a living," Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration Minister Rob Norris said. "There is a growing economy, many jobs to choose from and a healthy work environment punctuated by our government's newly released balanced budget."
Saskatchewan's 13.7 per cent decrease was the fourth largest among provinces and was larger than the national decrease of 12.1 per cent. All provinces experienced a decrease.
In per capita terms, 1.3 per cent of our labour force population received EI benefits, the second lowest population share among the provinces behind Alberta at 1.0 per cent.
All eight large centres continued to post year-over-year declines in the number of EI beneficiaries, according to Statistics Canada. Saskatoon was down by 19.5 per cent for 14 months of year-over-year declines and Regina was down by 10.9 per cent for 19 months of year-over-year declines.
"The EI numbers are showing a steady trend downward and this is yet another positive sign that Saskatchewan is a vibrant place to build a life," Norris said. "Those seeking work today in Saskatchewan will find more than 11,178 jobs posted on SaskJobs.ca."
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For more information, contact:
Bonny Braden
Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration
Saskatoon
Phone: 306-933-5846