MOOSE JAW — The Moose Jaw/Swift Current labour market showed a nearly seven per cent increase in employed people at the end of 2024.
Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey showed this region had 61,800 people employed at year-end compared with 57,900 at the end of 2023.
The increased employment comes with a 4,300 increase in the labour force. That means more people have moved here, or started looking for work again.
The number still searching for work is 2,900, up by 500 from the previous year.
At 5.6 per cent this region is in a three-way tie for the lowest unemployment rate in five provincial regions.
The tie includes Regina/Moose Mountain, Yorkton/Melville and this region.
Lowest unemployment rate is Saskatoon/Biggar at 4.3 per cent. The Prince Albert Northern rate is 5.5 per cent.
The unemployment rate in Saskatchewan was 5.4 per cent, up from 5.3 per cent while the nation-wide rate was 6.2 per cent, up from 5.3 per cent.
This was the first increase in the national unemployment rate since January 2023.
Of the 921,00 jobs created in Canada in December 35,000 were in Alberta. Saskatchewan had 8,800 new jobs.
The survey indicated almost one in 11 employed Canadians is working an industry depending on the U.S. for exports.
