The national economy lost 66,000 jobs in August and saw the unemployment rate climb to 7.1 per cent. (File photo/CJME)

By CKOM

Jobs

Saskatchewan sheds almost 2,000 full-time jobs in August

Sep 7, 2025 | 2:09 PM

Saskatchewan shed almost 2,000 jobs last month, according to numbers released on Friday by Statistics Canada.

The national economy lost 66,000 jobs in August and saw the unemployment rate climb to 7.1 per cent. But while Saskatchewan also lost full-time jobs last month, the province still boasted the lowest unemployment rate among Canadian provinces at 4.7 per cent.

According to Statistics Canada’s data, there were 516,300 full-time workers in Saskatchewan in August, down from 518,200 in July. That represents a decline of roughly 1.9 per cent.

But over the longer term, employment in Saskatchewan is trending upward, with the province adding 16,500 full-time jobs since August of last year.

The provincial government noted that seasonally adjusted figures showed more people working in the province than ever before in August, with Saskatchewan’s full-time employment hitting a record high of 534,300 last month.

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“Once again, with record job numbers and low unemployment, we have proven why we are the best place to live, work and raise a family in Canada,” Jim Reiter, Saskatchewan’s deputy premier, said in a statement.

“Our government is committed to ensuring that this growth continues and we have the labour force to support our strong economy.”

Employment for women also rose by 4.4 per cent year over year, the government added, and both Regina and Saskatoon saw employment growth over the past year, jumping by five per cent and 0.9 per cent, respectively.

“The province continues to see strong growth in other areas,” the provincial government added.

“Saskatchewan ranked second amongst the provinces for year-over-year growth in the value of building permits in June 2025 and first for year-to-date growth in the value of building permits and urban housing starts.”

Jobs will continue to grow: business expert

Saskatchewan business commentator and expert Paul Martin said this situation is unusual because it’s been a long time since Saskatchewan lost jobs.

“It’s not a happy story, but it’s actually better than the one that’s coming out nationally. In the last two months, across the country, we’ve lost 100,000 jobs,” he explained.

Martin said the labour pool has declined, and there could be various reasons.

“One is they simply retire, or another is they leave the province. The third one is that they give up. They simply step to the sidelines because they aren’t optimistic about their opportunity,” he said.

He said the majority of people who stepped out of the labour pool in August were young adults, under the age of 24, who struggled to find jobs.

“It’s been a very tough year for summer jobs, for students in particular,” he said.

Jobs were primarily lost in the manufacturing sector, according to Martin, while jobs were on the rise in the service industry.

While the province lost nearly 2,000 jobs according to the numbers, Martin said the statistics can be “volatile,” and it’s important to look at overall trends and other reports.

“The job vacancy report that came out last week showed that Saskatchewan was still doing quite well, better than most in the country, actually, about three per cent of all the jobs out there still going unfilled,” he said.

“And the trend for Saskatchewan this year has been job creation from really the beginning of the year right through to the end of July.”

He said Saskatchewan’s economy is quite strong right now, and job opportunities will continue to grow.

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