Saskatchewan has a set a record for employment for the eighth month in a row, Statistics Canada reported on Friday.
A total of 542,600 people were employed in Saskatchewan in July, an increase of 10,000 jobs over last July, which is a new high for the month.
The province's year over year employment numbers have reached record monthly highs for eight consecutive months.
The province also set a record for July full-time employment, with an increase of 9,600 jobs to 462,100, a two per cent hike.
Saskatchewan's unemployment rate is second lowest in the country at five per cent.
"These numbers are positive news for the province and an indicator of steady economic growth," Advanced Education Minister Don Morgan said in a press release on behalf of Economy Minister Bill Boyd. "We continue to see signs of why our province is the ideal place to live, work and invest, including our record-setting population growth, business confidence and an abundance of well-paying jobs for our workers."
Other highlights of the survey included:
• Saskatchewan's growth rate was up 1.9 per cent, behind Alberta and Prince Edward Island.
• Seasonally adjusted employment in the province increased 0.1 per cent in July from the previous month. This was the fifth highest growth rate in the country.
• The province’s two biggest cities were growing. Regina's year over year employment was up by 1.4 per cent while Saskatoon's year over year employment was up 4.8 per cent.
But the provincial NDP noted in a press release that there are some holes in the numbers.
Aboriginal joblessness has increased, with off-reserve First Nations unemployment now at 21.3 per cent and Métis unemployment at 9.4 per cent, according to Statistics Canada.
"I'm deeply concerned about unemployment rates among First Nations and Métis people going up at a time when most Saskatchewan people are able to find work," said Cam Broten, NDP employment and advanced education critic. "The Sask. Party government deserves some of the blame for that, because they scrapped important job-training programs like the Aboriginal Employment Development Program."
Statistics Canada reported that First Nations and Métis people employed in Saskatchewan dropped over the last year, and the overall First Nations and Métis labour force — which counts those employed as well as those actively looking for work — dropped as well.
