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Spring is in full swing now, and it's not just the weather that is heating up—so is the job market. With the onset of warmer temperatures comes employment opportunities for a considerable number of people in the province.
In 2024 Saskatchewan averaged 11,000 seasonal workers per month, approximately two per cent of our total workforce. Anne McRorie is the executive director of policy with the Ministry of Immigration and Career Training, and she said that the busiest time for seasonal employees will soon begin.
“Over May to October, we see the highest numbers in Saskatchewan, and they peak in July. For example, in July 2024, there were about 24,500 seasonal workers, which is a big increase,” she explained, highlighting the contrast when compared to our winter months.
“When we look at our cooler months, over January to April in 2024, we had about 3,000 seasonal workers employed on average per month.”
She said that three sectors account for 40 per cent of all seasonal work in the province.
Construction workers make up the largest share of seasonal employees, followed closely by those working in public administration, be it administrative assistants, social and community workers, or security guards.
She noted that agriculture is the final sector to grace the top three, which also accounts for 25 per cent of temporary foreign workers. McRorie mentioned that tourism-related jobs don’t hire the largest number of seasonal workers, but the industry does rely quite heavily on them.
While this year’s numbers are up for some speculation, McRorie said that since the end of the pandemic, demand for seasonal employees has been consistent.
“The 2024 numbers were pretty similar to 2019. We did see some reduction in 2020 and 2021, which I think is to be expected just with the pandemic. But it's over the last four or five years it's been pretty stable in terms of the numbers.”