REGINA — Newly released numbers from Statistics Canada show Saskatchewan's labour market is off to a strong start in 2024, with 12,900 new jobs added last month when compared to January 2023, an increase of 2.2 per cent. The provincial labour force also reached 623,300 in January, a record high for the month.
The provincial seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.7 per cent, ranked third amongst the provinces, remaining consistently below the national average of 5.7 per cent.
Saskatchewan saw both an all-time historical population (aged 15 and over) high of 938,900, and an all-time historical off-reserve Indigenous population (aged 15 and over) high of 112,300.
The province also saw record highs for the month of January (aged 15 and over), including:
- Total Saskatchewan employment: 591,500
- Saskatchewan male employment: 313,900
- Saskatchewan female employment: 277,600
- Off-reserve Indigenous employment: 62,400
Off-reserve Indigenous employment was up 2,600, an increase of 4.3 per cent, and Indigenous youth employment was up 3,300, an increase of 33.3 per cent, marking the fourth consecutive month of year-over-year increases for both.
Both of Saskatchewan's major cities saw job growth compared to last January as well, with Regina's employment up 10,100, an increase of 7.3 per cent, and Saskatoon's employment up 10,800, an increase of 5.8 per cent.
Major year-over-year gains were reported for professional, scientific and technical services, up 9,500, an increase of 32.8 per cent; educational services, up 4,300, an increase of 8.2 per cent; and wholesale and retail trade, up 2,900, an increase of 3.0 per cent.
