( file photo) 

By Glenn Hicks

jobs

Better looking job numbers for Sask. and North

Aug 7, 2020 | 1:54 PM

The Saskatchewan government is boasting the provincial unemployment rate of 8.8 per cent for July is the second lowest in the country and there are positive economic effects resulting from their Re-Open plan. Meanwhile, the very large Prince Albert and Northern region, also saw a reduction in the jobless rate.

Back in June the province’s unemployment rate was at 11.6 per cent and 13,000 more people found work since then, according to the latest Statistics Canada data.

“Saskatchewan continues to see positive effects resulting from the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan, as the province’s job growth remains one of the highest in Canada,” Immigration and Career Training Minister Jeremy Harrison said in a media release. “This means that many residents of Saskatchewan have been able to safely return to the workforce as our economy is on the right path for a strong recovery.”

The government said Saskatchewan now has the second-highest employment recovery rate in the country at 94.9 per cent compared to February, the last month before the pandemic.

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Meanwhile, in a media release, the opposition NDP said the latest jobs numbers showed there are almost 29,000 fewer jobs in Saskatchewan than this time last year,” and that our economy is in serious trouble.

The statement added, in part: “To secure our economic recovery and get people back to work, we need a real plan to reopen schools safely and keep them open.”

Regional numbers

Stats Canada’s count for Prince Albert and Northern region includes a population of over 156,000. It saw its jobless rate decline from 10.8 per cent in June to 9.9 per cent.

The actual size of the labour force in the region increased by over 3,000 in July to 103,100 and the jobless number was down to 10,200 from 10,800 in June. That’s still a long way off the year over year numbers. In July 2019, 7,400 people were out of work for an unemployment rate of 6.9 per cent.

Prince Albert

As for the city of Prince Albert specifically there was no movement in the actual number of unemployed people which remained at 2,000. But the labour force grew slightly to 21,900 so the jobless rate dipped from 9.4 per cent in June to 9.1 per cent for July.

National picture

Canada’s labour market gained 419,000 jobs last month as more parts of the economy were allowed to reopen. The national unemployment rate was 10.9 per cent in July, down from the 12.3 per cent recorded in June and sliding further away from the record-high 13.7 per cent in May.

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glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow