“At a time when so many are struggling just to put food on the table, 6,000 people just lost their job last month. Things might be going well for Scott Moe and his friends but across the province, hard-working people are falling behind,” said Official Opposition Leader Carla Beck. “The people of this province deserve a government that works as hard as they do to deliver real results. It’s time to empower local leaders and job creators, build more opportunities, and create more good-paying jobs that pay the bills at the end of the month.”
Since Scott Moe took office in February 2018, every other province in Canada has created jobs at a faster rate than Saskatchewan. From February 2018 to March 2024, Saskatchewan increased total employment by only 5.7%. That’s the worst rate of job growth in Canada over this time period, according to Statistics Canada.
Statistics Canada’s latest data shows that when it comes to job creation, the Sask. Party continues to lag behind other Canadian provinces. March’s job numbers represent the worst month-over-month (-1.0%) job creation rate in the country.
Province
|
Employment (000s) Feb ‘24
|
Employment (000s) Mar ‘24
|
Change (Raw)
|
Change (%)
|
ON
|
7,944.4
|
7,970.5
|
+26,100
|
+0.3%
|
BC
|
2,841.2
|
2,847.8
|
+6,600
|
+0.2%
|
NL
|
243.7
|
243.7
|
0
|
0%
|
PEI
|
92.0
|
91.9
|
-100
|
-0.1%
|
AB
|
2,530.1
|
2,526.9
|
-3,200
|
-0.1%
|
NS
|
517.9
|
516.4
|
-1,500
|
-0.3%
|
QC
|
4,533.2
|
4,515.2
|
-18,000
|
-0.4%
|
NB
|
392.6
|
390.9
|
-1,700
|
-0.4%
|
MB
|
704.7
|
700.4
|
-4,300
|
-0.6%
|
SK
|
603.1
|
597.1
|
-6,000
|
-1.0%
|
In addition to the low rate of job growth, Saskatchewan’s unemployment rate has risen from 5.0% to 5.4% while the labour force decreased month over month by 3,800 from 634,800 to 631,000.
The number of job vacancies in Saskatchewan has decreased by 23% in the last year.
“Year to year, month to month, these numbers clearly show the Sask. Party’s record of economic failure,” said Aleana Young, Opposition Critic for Jobs and the Economy. “Nearly 1,000 small businesses have closed in rural Saskatchewan. Scott Moe and the Sask Party are bad for the economy, and that’s bad for families.”
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