The latest data from Statistics Canada showed the unemployment rate in Saskatchewan, which held steady at 5.4 percent in August, was the lowest in the nation. This came with 2300 more people working in full-time roles but with 2700 fewer people working overall. Here in the southeast, the Regina-Moose Mountain Economic Region, which includes Weyburn and Estevan, the unemployment rate was 6.1 percent, up from 5.9 percent in July. This was the second-highest of all economic regions in the province last month.
“(A) reflection of a very strong labour market, which we’ve seen here in Saskatchewan for the last number of months,” said Jeremy Harrison, the Minister of Trade and Export Development. “We’ve now had the lowest unemployment rate in Canada for the last two months, one of the lowest in Canada for a number of months beyond that, even.”
Wages have also been increasing steadily in Saskatchewan, oftentimes at a pace slightly above the consumer price index. Some of the biggest growth for wages has been seen in the mining, quarrying, and oil & gas extraction industry, up by 5.75 percent year-over-year in June to $2,248.23, the latest month the numbers are available from Statistics Canada’s payroll earnings survey. At the same time, however, that sector encompasses only 3.78 percent of the workforce overall in the province – 19883 people.
The majority of the people in the province do work in the service industries, or non-goods producing sectors. The average weekly wages in that area are $1,130.15. While the wage growth there has been keeping pace and exceeding inflation in recent years, overall it has struggled to keep up with the consumer price index. This can be seen in some regions, such as southeast Saskatchewan.
While there are some regional differences when it comes to wage growth and unemployment, Harrison noted there are still some strengths on the whole.
“I would say, kind of in the aggregate, the investment that’s coming to the province is obviously a very positive thing,” the minister told Discover Weyburn. “There are implications that come along with that investment, and with what has been historic population growth in the province as well, which are challengers without question. I would posit, though, that those challenges associated with growth investment, and an expanding labour force and labour pool, are probably good ones to have, considering what happened in NDP governments.”
Harrison pointed to the GDP growth of the province as one of the strongest indicators of economic growth in Saskatchewan, with the GDP per capita being just over $80,000 per person, which is equivalent to Texas, and is the second highest of all Canadian jurisdictions.
“What it shows is an economy that is creating wealth, that’s creating jobs, and creating opportunity for people here in Saskatchewan.”
The growth has come at a cost, however.
In southeast Saskatchewan, at times some of the costs of living, such as food and shelter, have outpaced the wage growth. This was something Harrison emphasized on the whole, noting all of Saskatchewan is seeing wage growth outpace inflation.
“Saskatchewan is the most affordable jurisdiction in Canada,” Harrison reiterated. “All that being said, not to minimize the fact that there are increasing costs in a lot of areas, increasing less than they would be in British Columbia or Alberta or Ontario, but they are still increasing, wage growth across the province has increased more rapidly than have costs.”
Costs in Saskatchewan as a whole have increased at a slower rate than most of Canada. The rate of inflation for the province in July was 1.55 percent, the lowest in the nation. However, food and shelter both increased above the CPI, at 3.66 percent. One area where the CPI declined, though, was in energy costs, which were down year-over-year in July by 2.31 percent. This is attributed to the removal of the carbon tax from SaskEnergy bills. The service side of the energy costs, however, were up by 3.57 percent.
“We look forward to a day with a new national government, where Prime Minister Poilievre will be removing that consumer carbon tax for the entire country, which will have a very, very significant effect as it has here on the rate of inflation across the country, meaning there will be more affordability for things like housing, for things like groceries,” Harrison added.
As for the situation here in the southeast, compared to the rest of the province, Harrison stressed there are regional variations. When asked about what he would say to those in regions that may not be experiencing the same upswell as the rest of the country, he answered the policy environment needs to be in place.
“That’s really where, at the provincial level, we do what we can to attract investment, which is driving the fact that we have the lowest unemployment rate in the country, that we have some of the strongest wage growth in the entire country, across the province.”