Latest Sask. job stats show positive growth
More people are working full time in Saskatchewan, including Indigenous workers and those in trades and healthcare fields.
Statistics Canada released the province’s latest job numbers Friday, showing overall employment was up by 8,300 jobs, the largest increase since April of 2012. The unemployment rate was down half a point to 6.3 per cent.
The province said the numbers were positive and pointed to more strength in the local economy. The number of Indigenous people working off reserve was also up by 1,400 jobs over the past year according to Alastair MacFadden, deputy minister for immigration and career training with the province.
“The statistics today are encouraging because we are seeing growth in employment year over year,” he told paNOW. “It’s a really good signal that Saskatchewan employers are tapping into the available labour supply and they’re recognizing that First Nations and Métis workers are a key and strategic source of labour that’s sustainable.”