Saskatchewan loses 5,700 jobs in July as unemployment rate rises

Statistics Canada job numbers for July showed Saskatchewan recorded its first decrease in employment since March.

The data showed Saskatchewan lost 5,700 jobs between June and July. However, the province had 2,100 more jobs in July than it did in July of 2022.

The province’s unemployment rate rose 0.4 percentage points last month to 5.1 per cent. Still, that was the third-lowest unemployment rate among provinces, behind Quebec (4.5 per cent) and Manitoba (4.9 per cent).

British Columbia (5.4 per cent), Ontario (5.6 per cent), Alberta (6.1 per cent), New Brunswick (6.2 per cent), Nova Scotia (7.7 per cent), Prince Edward Island (8.1 per cent) and Newfoundland and Labrador (8.7 per cent) trailed Saskatchewan.

Canada’s national unemployment rate was 5.5 per cent in July.

The unemployment rates in Regina (4.4 per cent) and Saskatoon (4.7 per cent) remained the same month over month.