Local Unemployment Rate Ticks Up Slightly in August from July - Stats Can Report

For the first time in seven months Canada’s national unemployment rate increased from 4.9 percent to 5.4 percent in August. The increase in the unemployment rate was due to the loss of 40,000 jobs nationally in August with most of them being full-time employment.

Provincially the unemployment rate in August is 4.9 percent up from 4.0 percent in July 2022.

The sector with the largest loss of jobs in Saskatchewan in August was in the finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing sector. These sectors have been impacted by the Bank of Canada’s overnight lending rate increases to bring the inflation rate back to the target two percent.

The sector with the largest increase in jobs in Saskatchewan was in the wholesale and retail trade sector. The sector showed strong growth provincially with retail sales up 3.7 percent from May to June 2022 and wholesale sales up 14.9 percent.

The main area of wholesale sales for Saskatchewan was in the area of agricultural supply industry with the export of fertilizer driving the sector’s sales. The sector was up 30.3 percent from May 2022 to June 2022. The main reason for the sudden surge in fertilizer sales was the ongoing conflict in Ukraine which kept Russian and Belarussian fertilizer off of the world market.

In the Moose Jaw - Swift Current region the unadjusted unemployment rate increased from 4.8 percent in July 2022 to 5.2 percent in August 2022. The August rate now equals the 5.2 percent recorded in June of this year.

Map showing the boundaries of the Moose Jaw - Swift Current Economic Region - Statistics Canada map

On a positive note the unemployment rate in the Moose Jaw - Swift Current economic region has decreased from 6.0 percent in April 2022 to the 5.2 percent it sat on for August 2022.

A year ago in August 2021 the unemployment rate in the Moose Jaw - Swift Current Economic Region was 7.7 percent compared to August 2022 unemployment rate of 5.2 percent.