(file photo/paNOW Staff)

By paNOW Staff

jobs

Mixed stats on local, provincial and national job front

Dec 4, 2020 | 2:36 PM

There is a mixed bag of employment data from Statistics Canada.

The large Prince Albert and North region – which currently accounts for a total work force of over 102,000 people — saw an improvement in the jobless picture while the province saw losses.

For November, 5,600 people were out of work in the wider region which was an improvement on the 7,400 out of work in October. The region’s unemployment rate was at 5.5 per cent compared to 7.2 per cent in October.

However, Stats Canada warns against comparing the month-by-month figures because of seasonal variabilities. The number of people out of work in November 2019 was 6,000.

No figures were available for the city of Prince Albert – which had a total work force of 21,500 in November – because of sample size variability. In October the unemployment rate was 7.4 per cent. The jobless rate was eight per cent a year ago.

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The province meanwhile lost 2,800 jobs compared to October, moving the unemployment rate to 6.9 per cent.

Provincial picture

In a media release the government said Saskatchewan’s unemployment rate was the second lowest among the provinces, and the lowest in Western Canada.

“Saskatchewan continues to weather the storm caused by the fall surge of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Trade and Export Development Minister Jeremy Harrison said. “With a strong focus on growing exports as part of our economic recovery strategy, our economy will continue to move in the right direction in the weeks and months ahead.”

In the latest Merchandise Export report released by Statistics Canada today, Saskatchewan had the highest year-over-year growth among the provinces at 22.5 per cent in October 2020 (seasonally adjusted), compared to October 2019.

Meanwhile, NDP Leader Ryan Meili called the loss of nearly 500 jobs at the Evraz steel mill “weak leadership” on the part of Sask. Party Premier Scott Moe.

In a media release, the NDP said “Meili reiterated his call, first made in August, for the premier to support threatened jobs at the steel mill by advocating for the use of Canadian steel on Canadian projects, and to lead by example by implementing a Sask-first procurement policy for Saskatchewan Crowns.

“This loss of hundreds of jobs is deeply regrettable, but it wasn’t inevitable. Four months ago I stood with Evraz workers in Regina and urged the premier to defend these jobs,” Meili said.

“Well, we learned this week that the premier didn’t even try, and now hundreds of Regina families are facing a bleak Christmas because of his weak leadership,” the media release said.

On the national picture, Statistics Canada said 62,000 jobs were added, lowering Canada’s unemployment rate to 8.5 per cent from 8.9 per cent in October. A total of 84,000 jobs were gained in October.

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panews@jpbg.ca