Saskatchewan Starting 2024 Strong: 12,900 Jobs Added Year-Over-Year , Unemployment Rate Falls to 4.7 Per Cent

Released on February 9, 2024

Newly released numbers from Statistics Canada show Saskatchewan's labour market is off to a strong start in 2024, with 12,900 new jobs added last month when compared to January 2023, an increase of 2.2 per cent. The provincial labour force also reached 623,300 in January, a record high for the month. 

"Saskatchewan continues to excel in 2024, with strong job growth, a low unemployment rate and a growing labour force," Immigration and Career Training Minister Jeremy Harrison said. "Building our labour force to support our economy is a top priority to our government. This is why the province is consistently making strategic investments to promote economic growth and is actively supporting employers to help them train, recruit and retain the talent needed to fill job vacancies and build a skilled workforce."

The provincial seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.7 per cent, ranked third amongst the provinces, remaining consistently below the national average of 5.7 per cent.

Saskatchewan saw both an all-time historical population (aged 15 and over) high of 938,900, and an all-time historical off-reserve Indigenous population (aged 15 and over) high of 112,300. 

The province also saw record highs for the month of January (aged 15 and over), including:

• Total Saskatchewan employment: 591,500
• Saskatchewan male employment: 313,900
• Saskatchewan female employment: 277,600 
• Off-reserve Indigenous employment: 62,400

Off-reserve Indigenous employment was up 2,600, an increase of 4.3 per cent, and Indigenous youth employment was up 3,300, an increase of 33.3 per cent, marking the fourth consecutive month of year-over-year increases for both. 

Both of Saskatchewan's major cities saw job growth compared to last January as well, with Regina's employment up 10,100, an increase of 7.3 per cent, and Saskatoon's employment up 10,800, an increase of 5.8 per cent.

Major year-over-year gains were reported for professional, scientific and technical services, up 9,500, an increase of 32.8 per cent; educational services, up 4,300, an increase of 8.2 per cent; and wholesale and retail trade, up 2,900, an increase of 3.0 per cent.

Saskatchewan has continued to see growth across several other key indicators. Urban housing starts in Saskatchewan were up 86.4 per cent in December 2023, when compared to December 2022, ranking second in growth among provinces. The value of building permits reached $249 million in November 2023 (seasonally adjusted), an increase of 83.9 per cent from November 2022, the highest increase in all of Canada.

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