Statistics Canada released the latest Labour Force Survey numbers Friday morning, and while the nation as a whole lost 33,000 jobs in March, southeast Saskatchewan – and the province as a whole – saw an increase in employment.
The Regina-Moose Mountain Economic Region, which includes Weyburn and Estevan, saw the unemployment rate drop from 6.2 per cent in February to 5.5 per cent in March. This change came with 1500 more people working in the region, primarily in Regina, although the areas outside of the capital city saw job gains as well.
The decrease in the region’s unemployment rate was helped by 1400 fewer people reporting as being unemployed, with the labour force staying the same, and the population increasing.
Provincially, the unemployment rate was down as well, falling from 5.4 per cent in February to 4.9 per cent in March. This came with 6,600 more people working in the province, although most of those gains were part-time jobs. The unemployment rate in March is also the lowest in the country, well ahead of Quebec’s 5.7 per cent.
Nationally, the unemployment rate was up by 0.1 per cent, to 6.7, as 33,000 fewer people were working. The biggest sectors nationally where there were changes were in wholesale and retail trade, as well as information, culture and recreation, which both saw substantial job losses.