Released on November 7, 2014
Saskatchewan's strong economy has again produced the fastest rate of employment growth and lowest unemployment rate in Canada, according to new figures released today by Statistics Canada.“Our strong economy continues to give confidence to employers who, in turn, are deciding to expand their workforce,” Minister responsible for Immigration, Jobs, Skills and Training Jeremy Harrison said. “Thanks to the hard work of Saskatchewan people, there are 71,700 more people employed today than there were in 2007.”
The latest report from Statistics Canada shows that employment in October 2014 was up by 3.5 per cent over last October with Saskatchewan employers creating 19,700 more jobs. In total, there were 576,200 people employed in the province, the highest ever for the month.
The province’s unemployment remained unchanged at a low of 3.5 per cent (seasonally adjusted), the lowest among the provinces and well below the national rate of 6.5 per cent.
“We have maintained the lowest unemployment rate in the country for the past 23 months,” Harrison said.
On a month-over-month comparison, there were 2,300 more jobs (seasonally adjusted) in October over September.
Other highlights:
- Unemployment in major urban centres remains low. Regina CMA recorded its unemployment rate at 3.0 per cent (seasonally adjusted), the lowest among CMAs, while Saskatoon CMA’s unemployment rate of 4.4 per cent (seasonally adjusted) was second lowest.
- Female employment reached a historical high of 264,300 in October 2014.
- There were 14,000 more full-time jobs and 5,700 part-time jobs created compared to last October.
- Major employment gains were recorded in accommodation and food services (+5,400), construction (+5,100) and forestry, fishing, mining, oil and gas (+3,600) from a year ago.
- Private sector employment was up 14,500 and self-employment up 8,200 from October 2013.
For more information, contact:
Deb Young
Economy
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4765
Email: deb.young@gov.sk.ca