The latest job numbers from Statistics Canada were released Friday morning, and there was a slight increase in the unemployment rate in southeast Saskatchewan.
The Regina-Moose Mountain economic region, which includes Weyburn and Estevan as well as Regina and other communities, saw 1200 fewer working in January compared to December. This resulted in the unemployment rate for the area increasing from 4.1 percent to 4.2 percent. When Regina was taken out of the numbers, the unemployment rate jumped up from 2.5 percent to 3 percent.
The unemployment rate for the economic region is one of the lowest west of Quebec, however, and is still lower than the provincial numbers, and the national numbers.
The province had a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 4.3 percent in January, which is down from 4.4 percent in December. The national unemployment rate was unchanged in January at 4.9 percent.
As for what the numbers are for various industries for the Regina-Moose Mountain economic region, non-management sales and service occupations were at the top, with 38,300 working in that industry. This makes up 21.4 percent of the labour force in the region. The next biggest industry is business, finance and administration occupations, which make up 17.41 percent of the workforce in the region.