The latest numbers from Statistics Canada show the unemployment rate in southeast Saskatchewan went down in June.
The labour force survey, released Friday morning, had the unemployment rate for the Regina-Moose Mountain Economic Region, which includes Weyburn and Estevan, going from 6.8 percent in May to 6.4. This came primarily due to 2000 more people working in the region. The majority of those jobs – 1500 to be exact – were in Regina itself. The other 500 new jobs came from the areas outside of the provincial capital.
For the areas outside of Regina, the region saw a drop in the unemployment rate from 6 percent to 5.3. This puts the unemployment rate at the lowest it has been since November of last year.
Year-over-year, the economic region has seen an increase in the population of those 15 and older of 10,800, with 6200 more people working. Most of that population increase happened in Regina, with just 500 more people over 15 living in areas outside of Regina.
Provincially, the unemployment rate was down slightly, going from 5.6 percent to 5.5. Despite the slight reduction in the unemployment rate, 1200 fewer people were working full-time in June compared to May, with most of the new employment being part-time.
Saskatchewan’s unemployment rate of 5.5 is the third lowest in the country, behind British Columbia and Quebec. This is below the national unemployment rate of 6.4 percent, which is up from 6.2 percent in May.