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Latest Sask. job stats show positive growth

Jul 9, 2018 | 8:00 AM

More people are working full time in Saskatchewan, including Indigenous workers and those in trades and healthcare fields.

Statistics Canada released the province’s latest job numbers Friday, showing overall employment was up by 8,300 jobs, the largest increase since April of 2012. The unemployment rate was down half a point to 6.3 per cent.

The province said the numbers were positive and pointed to more strength in the local economy. The number of Indigenous people working off reserve was also up by 1,400 jobs over the past year according to Alastair MacFadden, deputy minister for immigration and career training with the province.

“The statistics today are encouraging because we are seeing growth in employment year over year,” he told paNOW. “It’s a really good signal that Saskatchewan employers are tapping into the available labour supply and they’re recognizing that First Nations and Métis workers are a key and strategic source of labour that’s sustainable.”

The number of full-time jobs was also up in June by 5,600, MacFadden said, and part-time jobs were down by 1,700. There was an increase of just over eight per cent in the number of employees working overtime as well.

MacFadden said industries such as healthcare, insurance, real estate, manufacturing, mining, and oil and gas all saw increases. The number of available jobs in construction and in the forestry and logging sectors also grew, due largely to the demand for new housing both inside and outside the province.

“It’s an indication of broader trends,” MacFadden added. “It’s the construction that actually leads to some other types of employment.”

Job numbers also grew in Ontario and Manitoba, the Statistics Canada report noted. The employment rate across Canada rose by 32,000 in June; the rate was little changed during the first six months of 2018.

 

Charlene.tebbutt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @CharleneTebbutt